Scandal
by Midnight Chrysanthemum
Summary: Who could have guessed that one simple supposedly secret meeting would end up causing such a huge uproar...?
1. The Trigger

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Disclaimer first: I do not own the rights to Medabots. Not the setting, not the canon plot, not the canon characters (though any I happen to introduce that aren't in the series are mine).

Next the warnings: this is set a few days after the end of the World Robattle Tournament. There are a few, very brief references to events that transpired there, though those are far from the focus of this story.

Also, this is going to be an Ikki/Samantha. Yes, those two. Don't stare at me like that. This category needs new pairings, after all. I mean, just look how many Ikki/Erikas and Koji/Karins there are! At this point and time, I've figured out other relationships I'm going to use in this, which will become clearer as the story develops.

If you're interested in writing a Samantha/Ikki story yourself, don't be afraid to go for it. Since I don't own the rights to Medabots, I'm in no position to stop you even if I was anal enough to try such a stupid thing. Besides, I'm interested in what everyone might come up with, Ikki/Samantha or otherwise.

~ * The Trigger (And WHAT a Trigger…) * ~

(I can't believe I'm about to do this.)

Ikki's dark cobalt eyes darted from side to side for what had to be the thousandth time, and he nervously rolled a tiny slip of folded paper between his twitching fingers. That paper happened to be the cause of his uneasiness, and just the feel of its crinkling surface against the sweaty palm of his hand was forcing him to rethink the action he was about to take.

(C'mon, Ikki, pull yourself together! If you don't address this now, it'll just get worse and worse! You've given it this long and nothing's changed on its own… It's time you do something about it!)

Finally, the boy acted. With a quick, furtive movement, he stepped up beside the locker and wedged the small piece of paper through the small slit where door met frame. He did this as quickly as possible, hiding as much of his action from the rest of the world with his body, then stepped back and took off, melting into the crowd of students milling by. The last thing he needed was to be seen doing this, and thankfully luck was with him, for nobody had noticed either his hanging by the locker or the folded note he had left behind.

So the paper remained where it was, tucked away in the crack, until Samantha came along and opened her locker door, freeing the note and letting it drift to the ground.

The leader of the Screws blinked and glanced down, having only seen a flit of movement at the very edge of her vision. The plain white paper stood out clearly against the sea green carpet, and she blinked again, a bit surprised at its presence.

"What's this, Boss?" Spyke, one of her ever-present cronies, chirped even as he bent to retrieve the fallen paper for her.

"Let me see that," snapped the girl, snatching it away from his grasp without so much as a thank you.

Turning away from him, Samantha unfolded the paper. Her blue-green eyes scanned over the black scribbling contained on the small sheet, while her two followers Spyke and Sloan peered curiously over her shoulder.

"What's it say?" the shorter of the two boys asked.

Samantha glared back at him, but then shrugged and read the note aloud:

[Samantha;

We need to talk.

Meet me at sundown by the pond in the park.

Come alone.

See you then.]

"Didn't even bother to sign it," Samantha observed, turning the paper over in her hands and staring at it suspiciously.

"Wow, Boss, you must have a secret admirer or something!" piped Spyke.

"Please." Samantha rolled her eyes at the taller boy. "It's probably just some wet-behind-the-ears brat who thinks he can take me on, but doesn't want to risk getting his diapered ass kicked in front of everybody."

"What are you gonna do, Sam?" asked Sloan, studying his leader's face through his squinty eyes.

"What else?" Samantha crumpled the paper in both hands and tossed it disdainfully into a trashcan as she walked away. "I'll play their game for now, but when they challenge me to a robattle, they'd better be prepared for Peppercat and me to beat them up."

"Alone?" Spyke sounded a bit concerned, and he followed on his leader's footsteps.

"Are you implying I can't take care of myself?"

Samantha's tone was even, but there was venom dripping from her words. Spyke gulped and backpedaled, cowering behind Sloan.

"Of course not, Bo-Boss! You can handle anything!"

"Good." Samantha smiled coldly. "Then you two know better than to go against what I want."

"Of course, Boss!" That time it was both boys, and both looked equally nervous.

~ * ~

(It's probably just somebody looking to robattle with Peppercat. Just some nobody wanting to test his skills against one of the best. That's all.)

Even as that ongoing pessimistic mantra chimed endlessly in her mind, Samantha stole a quick glance at her reflection in the pond. She hadn't really dressed up for this meeting, as she suspected it was merely a request for a robattle, but she hadn't exactly neglected her appearance, either. Brushing her long auburn hair until bronze highlights shone in the gradually fading sunlight, exchanging the clothes she had worn to school for a cleaner pair – she'd even cleaned her orange-tinted sunglasses twice before stepping out the door.

(Damn my overactive imagination wanting to make this something more! Kick-ass girls like me don't get asked to go to secret rendezvous with admirers – that's reserved for pansies like that Karin girl…)

She stole a glance at her meda-watch, making note of the time the digital numbers displayed, then looked over toward the slowly sinking sun. One of her feet twitched, tapping out a few short notes against the ground before she consciously stopped herself: the leader of the Screws wasn't going to look completely ridiculous while waiting for this mystery person to show their face.

(One thing's for sure. If this is just some cowardly medafighter, they can kiss their bot goodbye!)

Samantha blinked.

(Wait a sec… Did I just use one of Metabee's little catch phrases…?!)

(…Note to self: quit hanging around Ikki and his little group so damn much…)

~ * ~

Ikki stole a nervous look around as he walked down the street, trying to look as casual as possible even as he cased the area. So far, he'd seen no signs that he was being followed – he'd learned to recognize many of the clues, since he was so used to being tailed by unwanted company.

And that was the last thing he needed to worry about right now. There were far more pressing issues to consider – like what exactly he was going to say to Samantha once he arrived.

Ikki suppressed the urge to sigh in exasperation at the thought of the leader of the Screws. For a long time, he had seriously hoped this issue would resolve itself, but no, she still persisted in keeping up the act. The whole mess had been wearing on his nerves for quite some time, and he was more than ready to try and put a stop to it.

Ever since it had first been announced that Ikki and Metabee had become the third highest-ranked team in Japan, Samantha had gone around claiming he owed it all to her – that she was his master, the one who taught him everything he knew. It certainly hadn't helped when she and Peppercat then defeated them right in front of all those news crews and reporters – but then, Ikki hadn't realized that Metabee didn't quite have the hang of using the Meda-force until it was too late. From that point on, even though he protested every time he could, Samantha stuck to her claim – and even though those who had been there since the beginning knew better, the rumor remained.

With the World Robattle Cup having turned out to be a huge conspiracy, his hopes of gaining worldwide fame with a fantastic win had been tarnished. If another was held after that horrible debacle, it wouldn't be for another four whole years. In the meantime, Ikki had vowed to at least work on his reputation at home. One of the first issues he'd decided to tackle was that of ensuring everybody knew that he wasn't Samantha's star pupil.

Still, for all the problems the leader of the Screws had caused, Ikki considered her a friend. Even though they were hardly master and student, Samantha and Peppercat had been huge helps at times, along with the boys she bossed around. Confronting her in front of everybody would be too much of a pain – especially if they ended up arguing or, heaven forbid, fighting.

Ikki really hoped it wouldn't come to fisticuffs. Even though she was smaller and slighter than him, he had no doubt that Samantha could kick his ass if they fought one-on-one.

Besides, he'd learned from that fateful battle between Metabee and Peppercat that fighting wasn't really going to solve the problem. Maybe by getting Samantha alone and talking with her about the whole mess, they'd come to some other way of fixing things.

Of course, there was no way he'd get Samantha to swallow her pride and agree to anything with an audience. Besides, two of his closest friends, Metabee and Erika, would only compound the problem with their presence. Metabee, while Ikki's partner and most treasured companion, had an attitude and a distressing tendency to mouth off at the worst possible times. And Erika considered it her sworn duty to turn almost everything her childhood friend did into a huge cover story… annoying enough in its own right, but certain to make things worse if she blasted this through the papers.

That was why Ikki was doing everything he could to keep this a secret. There were only two individuals needed to work this out: Samantha and himself. Involving anybody else just made the situation worse. If he talked privately with Samantha, one on one, just the two of them, surely they could figure out a solution that kept everyone happy…

As he pondered this problem, Ikki paid precious little attention to where he was going. So he didn't notice the fact that he was walking right past the 24 Hop Mart, or that the door swung open a few minutes after he passed it to allow a certain shorthaired girl to pop her head out.

"…Ikki?" Erika wondered aloud, surprised to see the medafighter alone.

Several alarms went off in her mind: Ikki was not with Metabee like he normally was. He had walked right past the Hop Mart without popping in to say hi to Henry and anyone else that he recognized inside. Most importantly, he hadn't given her any clue whatsoever that he was planning on doing anything.

Erika frowned. Ikki was acting very oddly, and that could only mean one thing: he was trying to keep something from her. Her grip on the brightly wrapped box containing the meda-part she had bought as a surprise for Brass tightened, and she hurried after her childhood friend. It would wait for later: right now, her journalist instincts were shrieking at her that a hot new story was in development…!

~ * ~

Samantha fought the almost overwhelming urge to yawn as she glanced at her meda-watch again. Where was this mystery kid anyway? They'd insisted on meeting her here; the least they could do in return was show up on time…

"…There you are."

Samantha froze at the all-too-familiar voice, and whirled to face its owner. Her turquoise eyes narrowed slightly, and she placed her hands on her hips, assuming a defiant stance to mask the sharp pang of disappointment she felt.

"…Oh. You," she grated out, in a tone oozing with careless disrespect.

Ikki sweated, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Already it appeared that his plan to work things out was not going as well as he had expected.

"Aw, c'mon, Sam, just hear me out," he pleaded. "I really need to talk to you about something, and I really figured it was best we talk about it without an audience…"

"…" Samantha glared at him, blue-green eyes glittering dangerously. "…I'm listening."

Ikki hesitated, trying to figure out just what he could say to diffuse the situation. He had seriously believed that just getting a chance to be alone with the leader of the Screws would be difficult enough…

Of course, what Ikki was unaware of was the fact that they weren't really alone. Several feet away, Erika crouched behind some bushes, her purchase set aside for the time being and trusty camera raised in front of her. The young reporter's warm brown eyes were wide with shock; she could hardly believe the scene before her.

(Ikki…and Samantha…?! No way…)

But for all her silent denials, the scene in front of her was real enough. Ikki and Samantha were standing in front of the pond, the sun slowly sinking in the sky behind them and casting a golden tint over everything – the rippling water, the waving grass, Samantha's gently swaying auburn hair…

Erika hadn't gotten close enough to hear everything being said, but the wind had borne enough of the whispery words over to her disbelieving ears for her to get the general gist of things – or, at least, so she believed. Plus, Ikki's awkward stance clued her in quite keenly to his nervousness, with her racing imagination deciding it knew why.

Trembling, doing a poor job of reigning in her raging emotions, Erika raised her camera in front of her face and adjusted the zoom lenses. She didn't realize that the movement caused the lens to catch and reflect the light briefly.

Samantha, however, picked up on this detail immediately. Catching a glimpse of the momentary flash, she shifted her gaze from the stuttering Ikki to focus on the spot where she'd noticed it. It only took a few moments of concentration for her to pick out Erika's mostly hidden figure concealed by the bushes.

(Erika… figures that jealous brat would be spying on us! Probably thinks I'm trying to steal her precious Ikki just like Karin or something…)

A spike of anger shot through the leader of the Screws, and she was about to scream, focusing all her frustration at the reporter – when she suddenly paused, stopped cold by a single thought.

(She's always spying on Ikki, so worried that he's 'cheating' on her – even though he doesn't even recognize how she feels, and she's never had the guts to tell him outright…)

(What if… what if she actually saw what she keeps suspecting…?)

A cold, sly smirk formed on Samantha's lips. The more she entertained the thought, the more it sounded like the perfect way to turn this whole crappy afternoon around a bit. The wanna-be reporter's antics had long worn on Samantha's last nerve, and finally turning that around on the little snoop seemed very appealing. It could even be considered a little payback toward Ikki, who had unwittingly ruined her entire afternoon by making her wonder about some possible secret admirer by sticking that note in her locker.

(Hell, I could have a little fun with this…) 

Her mind made up, Samantha turned her attention back to Ikki. He was still struggling to figure out some way of phrasing whatever it was he had called her out here to talk about in the first place. Come to think of it, she still didn't really understand why he'd done this to her – not that it mattered. She was about to take control of this little meeting, and any reason he'd had for it was about to be thrown out the window.

"Ikki…" she purred, taking immediate delight in the way the boy's eyebrows shot straight up at the way she said his name alone. "You didn't have to be so secretive about all this…"

"…Uh… I don't know about that," stammered the now rather flustered youth, not knowing how to handle this turn of events. "I… I mean, you never seemed to want to listen to me when I tried to tell you before, and…"

Samantha smirked in coy delight. In his panicked state, Ikki was paying little attention to the words actually coming out of his mouth, and had no idea he was only digging himself deeper and deeper…

"Come on, Ikki," she murmured, leaning closer and playing with the top of his collar. "Why don't you just come out and say whatever you wanted to say…? Or should I make an educated guess…?"

Ikki was rapidly turning the same shade as his shirt, completely taken off guard by how Samantha was suddenly acting. This was one side of her he'd never really seen, except for when she was flirting with Koji…

(…FLIRTING?!)

That mere notion caused the majority of Ikki's brain to seize up, and he stared at the leader of the Screws with very huge and shocked blue eyes.

Samantha smiled, looking a bit cat-like with the smug expression. Her turquoise eyes drank in the boy's fear: she had to admit, Ikki did look pretty cute when he was shocked. That was good, since she probably wouldn't have had the guts to even attempt what she was plotting next if he wasn't at all appealing to her.

"What's the matter, Ikki? Still can't find what to say?"

Reaching up, she grabbed the thick collar of his trademark red shirt and pulled him down so that the now extremely confused boy was on eye level with her. She could practically feel the nervousness radiating from the higher ranked medafighter, and her sly smirk widened a bit.

"…Well, actions speak louder than words," she declared lightly.

Then she leaned up and pressed her soft lips against his.

Ikki stiffened with shock, and Samantha felt his mouth fall slightly agape at the feel of her actually kissing him. Taking full advantage of this, her tongue darted forward and lightly brushed against his, causing a shudder to course down her victim's spine. She quickly brought her tongue back to rest in her own mouth, confident the boy's reaction hadn't gone unnoticed by the intruder spying on them.

The fact that a very audible gasp came from the bushes helped clue her in on this particular fact.

Meanwhile, Ikki's brain had almost completely ceased function. It seemed capable of only two major acts: one was heightening all the senses in his mouth so that all he seemed to feel was Samantha kissing him. The other was simply keeping one thing running through his mind over and over again.

(…Holy………medarollie……)

Breaking the kiss as suddenly as she had initiated it, Samantha pulled away and studied Ikki's expression wryly. He looked completely shell-shocked, blue eyes a bit unfocused, and mouth still slightly agape. With a very feline smile on her face, Samantha tapped the boy's chin lightly with one finger.

"Now then… what was the real reason you called me here?" she whispered softly, lowering her raspy voice to a dull purr.

Ikki did not answer, still frozen in place. Samantha rolled her aquamarine eyes at his reaction: she might have been insulted, had she not been aiming to shock. Besides, she had a feeling she'd missed a lot of the real fun by not witnessing Erika's reaction to her unexpected maneuver.

She glanced over at the bushes where she'd first glimpsed the gleaming camera lens, half-expecting the jealous journalist to burst out of hiding and charge with intent to kill. When she didn't appear, but instead remained crouching in her cover, Samantha was a bit surprised, but shrugged it off. Even without getting to see a confrontation, her spirits had been raised tremendously from earlier.

"…Fine, then, be that way if you want," she huffed, mock angry. "I suppose you can tell me some other time. See you at school tomorrow," – she smirked and couldn't resist adding – "Lover boy…"

With that, she fairly skipped off, considerably pleased with herself. At least the entire afternoon hadn't ended up a bust: she'd managed to turn that disappointing situation into one that she'd gained a bit of enjoyment from.

(Too bad Ikki's such a lousy kisser… but, then, I didn't give him much time to prepare, did I?)

After she left, Ikki continued to stare off into space, blue eyes unfocused. He didn't even notice when another female emerged from the bushes. Erika didn't even glance in her childhood friend's direction as she hastily retrieved her package and hurried off towards her home. Quite simply put, the reporter was frightened of what she might end up doing to him if she stayed any longer.

Several minutes after she left, Ikki finally stirred. The boy slumped to his knees, still staring straight ahead without seeing his surroundings. One hand absently strayed up to his mouth, fingers tracing gently over his lips.

"…What… just… happened…?"

~ * ~

Later that night, Erika crouched on her bed, covers pulled over her head and camera sitting in her lap. The shorthaired girl was working furiously on her camera, scanning through her film time and again, pulling up different still shots and sorting through them at an almost frenetic rate.

The normally vibrant young girl was a complete mess. Her short hair was disheveled, dark chocolate strands sticking out in almost every direction. Her dark cinnamon eyes were now more red than brown, and fresh tear tracks marred her face. Her teeth were grinding together lowly, and she muttered to herself as she continued to shift through the still shots.

"…Ikki… That… I'll show… She's pay… Show them… How dare… I'll show… They'll pay…"

Brass was standing outside the bedroom, confused and worried. The door was locked, rendering her unable to be by her medafighter's side – and from the muffled sounds coming from within the chamber, she had a sinking feeling Miss Erika needed some sort of companionship. However, there was nothing she could do but wait outside… and listen in growing concern.

~ * ~

The next morning, Samantha arrived at school in a surprisingly upbeat mood. There was a noticeable bounce in her step as she walked along, and a knowing smile graced her usually stern face.

The leader of the Screws figured she was still operating on a bit of a rush from what she had done yesterday. She'd punished Ikki for leading her on and Erika for spying on them, and for once found a way to do it that didn't involve robattling. Nobody else had gotten involved, not even Peppercat: it was just Samantha turning the tables on the two.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen either one yet today. Samantha's smug smile widened a bit. In all likelihood, Erika had confronted Ikki about the whole mess, or would be soon, if she wasn't too embarrassed about the fact she'd been spying on her childhood friend again. Maybe this incident would finally force the reporter to come right out and tell Ikki about her feelings for him.

(If that happens, I've have to see if I can't get them both to thank me later. Those two really needed a kick in the ass to get things going… It's so sickening, watching her obsess over him but not actually just come out and…)

Her thoughts trailed off as she noticed a rather large crowd of her fellow students around one of the bulletin boards. This struck her as a bit odd: usually those sort of crowds never gathered unless something concerning one of the myriad of activities the school had was posted. The strange thing was, she couldn't think of any sports or plays that the school had needed recruits for…

(Maybe it's another Medabots tournament. They post a lot of notices like that, and after the whole mess with the WRC…)

Samantha pushed her way into the middle of the throng, just close enough to see what had the attention of so many of her fellow students. As soon as she caught a glimpse of it, the Screw leader stopped dead in her tracks, staring in dead shock.

There, plastered on the wall, was a picture of her kissing Ikki with the sunset-lit pond behind them.

And Samantha murmured the only words she could think of to adequately express her exact feelings at seeing that beautiful scene featured so prominently for the whole world to admire.

"…Oh k'so…"


	2. A Little Game of Kiss and Tell

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The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Two: A Little Game of Kiss and Tell (But Who's Telling?) * ~

"World Class Medafighter is Screwing Around!"

So shrieked the headline on the special edition bulletin Erika had put out dealing with what she had witnessed. It had taken almost the entire night, plus coming in early that morning in order to get everything printed out, but it didn't matter.

In fact, nothing seemed to matter. Erika studied the bold headline with an oddly devoid of emotion expression on her face, brown eyes empty. She felt… nothing at that moment. Like she'd cried out all her anger and betrayed feelings and sorrow last night, and simply was too worn out to feel anything other than exhaustion for the time being.

Some little part of her in the very back of her mind, however, noted that this wasn't likely to last. Surely later on it would dawn on her again, and all the pain and tears would start up once she was somewhere private.

Not here, though. Not in school, surrounded by her peers. For now, best to play the role of the unaffected journalist reporting the latest scoop. Neutrality, even faked, was the ticket. Neutrality…

(Yeah. _Right…_)

~ * ~

Ikki Tenryou was not having a good day.

Actually, to be a bit more accurate, he hadn't been having a good day since the previous afternoon. By the time he'd snapped out of his 'Oh-my-God-did-Samantha-really-just-KISS-me!?' stupor, the sun had sunk too low for him to have any hope of getting back home before dark. To his credit, he'd made a valiant effort despite the fact that the waning light and ever-vanishing sun was against him.

His mother and Metabee had been waiting for him. Chidori greeted him with gentle admonishments about staying out late and worrying her so; Metabee greeted him with screams and a Seeker Missile that only a frantic dash to his bedroom had prevented from lodging itself up the boy's rear. Both had been concerned about his safety, but expressed it in very different manners.

It hadn't helped in the slightest that for some strange reason, all Ikki could think about as he laid in bed and attempted to sleep was Samantha and that kiss. Well, that and how pretty she looked standing in front of the lake… her long chestnut hair shimmering in the fading sunlight…

It took several minutes of banging his head repeatedly against the wall for him to finally reach a state of relative unconsciousness.

Then, sometime that night, once he'd slipped into blissful slumber despite the aching bumps on his forehead, he'd dreamed. Not of robattling his way to the number one slot or winning some grand tournament, either.

No, his subconscious had decided it was against him as well, and speculated on what it might have been like had he returned the kiss instead of just standing there like a complete idiot.

His dream self had proven to be very receptive to the kiss, indeed: his arms had wrapped around the smaller, slighter girl, pulling her closer until he could feel her heartbeat against his chest, trapping her mouth with his… Feeling a smug sense of victory as he saw her intense aquamarine eyes widen with surprise, then light with pleasure and delight as she hugged him a bit tighter…

Opening his eyes to find them inches away from a pair of very shocked and pissed off bright green eyes had not been pleasant at all.

On the plus side, untangling himself from the furious Metabee and racing to get out of the house before he got killed over the little misunderstanding ensured he was going to be at school on time.

But that didn't help Ikki's mood much as he trudged toward the front gates, resigned to another boring day at school. Hopefully the time would pass quickly and he'd be able to focus on the really important things, like robattling or wooing Karin… not the stupid stuff he was forced to do instead in class.

That wasn't likely, of course. But, he could always dream… With a heavy sigh, Ikki rounded the corner and walked into the schoolyard. 

And found himself face-to-face with a mob of students.

"Wha…"

Before Ikki had a chance to finish his surprised exclamation, the crowd had surrounded him, and the poor boy found himself pelted with questions, comments, and suggestions from every side. It was all he could do to look around wildly in a futile attempt to see everyone who was talking to him, throwing out unwanted advice, observations, praise and demands.

"Man, what was it like?"

"Does she bite?"

"You know what I think? I think…"

"What's it taste like?"

"Did you go French or just normal?"

"What the heck do you see in her?"

"How'd you snag her like that?"

"Was it a dare? Or did you lose a bet with somebody?"

"What a prize…! You beat her in a robattle to make her do that?"

"Is she any good? Are you any good?"

"…Know what I think? I think…"

Flustered, confused by the rapid-fire questioning, and just wondering what the heck everyone was so excited about, Ikki squirmed nervously until he finally located an opening and made a break for it, rushing toward the school building with the majority of the mob behind him. Somehow, he managed to make it inside, and burst through the doors, panting hard.

After catching his breath, the first thing Ikki noticed when he opened his eyes was a school newspaper somebody had dropped on the floor. For a few minutes, he just gazed down at it in silence while gasping for breath, letting blood flow back to his brain again.

Once he recovered from his sprint, the exact subject of the cover article slapped him full in the face, and the boy face-faulted, then sprang back up, gripping the paper with white-knuckled hands. His blue irises were mere dots in his saucer-sized eyes as they scanned over the front page.

"World Class Medafighter is Screwing Around!"

Just underneath that, a full color photograph of him. With Samantha. Standing in front of the lake. Lip-locked.

"…Oh, _KUSO!_"

"Ten-ryouuu!"

The already horrified Ikki felt his pounded heart lurch violently at the enraged yell, then drop deep into the pit of his stomach. Although his mind shrieked 'RUN LIKE HELL', his body, ever defiant and acting against all survival instincts, slowly swung around. His head tilted back and Ikki forced a very weak smile as he stared up at the towering bulk of Coach Mountain.

"Tenryou! Don't you know I don't appreciate hearing those words on school grounds?" the muscular fitness freak grated. His glare shifted down to the paper his trembling victim was holding, and his frown deepened as he added, "I'm not exactly one for PDAs, either."

"P…PDAs, sir…?"

"Public Displays of Affection!" bellowed Coach Mountain, emphasizing each word.

"…O-oh… Bu-but that happened outside of the school, Coach," Ikki heard himself say.

(My God! I must have a death wish! Even my own mouth's against me!)

Coach Mountain's face darkened, and Ikki could almost see tiny thunderbolts crackling across his forehead as the growing storm churned. The worst part was that his stubborn legs still refused to work, leaving the poor boy stranded and defenseless in front of this trembling mountain of rage.

"Tennn-ryouuu…"

(If I'd have known I was going to die today, I would have gone ahead and returned that kiss Samantha gave me… Wait a second, where did _THAT_ come from?!)

"Is there a problem here?"

Ikki nearly cried with joy. Salvation! In the form of a squat, balding bespectacled man in a dark suit that just happened to be the Principal.

…Okay, so Salvation wasn't in its most physically appealing right now. That didn't mean that Ikki didn't feel like he could almost kiss the man for showing up right then.

Almost.

"Nothing's the matter, sir!" Coach Mountain insisted, fixing Ikki with a steady glare in an attempt to keep the boy from slipping away. "I was just in the process of disciplining this troublemaker…"

"Really?" the Principal smiled kindly at Ikki, giving the student the distinct impression that he had winked at him behind those thick glasses. "Really now, Coach, I hardly think that Tenryou's extra-curricular activities are of any concern to us…"

(Extra…curricular? Oh no, please tell me he doesn't mean…)

Bending over a bit so that he was on better eye level with the sweating student, the Principal kept smiling warmly as he stage-whispered, "Just try to keep those youthful passions reined in as best you can on school grounds. Best try not to make us older folks jealous, right…?"

(…Oh, _KUSO!_)

"…Ye-yes sir," he stammered, cheeks blazing a bright crimson to match his shirt.

The Principal grinned, nodded, then straightened up and led a protesting and sputtering Coach Mountain away. Thanks to his timely intervention, Ikki had just been spared another one of the stern drillmaster's long and grueling penalty exercise detentions.

Now he was seriously wondering if he might have actually preferred suffering through that instead. 

~ * ~

"Hey. Have you taken a look at Erika's newest story?"

Spyke looked over at his fellow Screw and nodded slowly, turning around the paper he was holding to reveal the scandalous headline and picture plastered on the front. The taller boy's expression still held hints of the utter shock he'd felt the instant he laid eyes on the cover, but gradually he seemed to be regaining some thought processes.

"What do you make of it?" asked Sloan, shaking his head slowly, looking stuck somewhere between disbelief and slow acceptance. "I'd have figured she'd made it using editing, if I didn't know that she went off to meet…"

"…Her secret admirer," finished Spyke, wide-eyed. "Her secret admirer is… Ikki?"

"Looks like it." Sloan suddenly cracked a half-smirk as he added, "Well, not so secret now, I suppose…"

"Sloan! Do you realize what this means?!"

"Um… Ikki and Samantha are sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I…"

"No!" Spyke shook his head violently, then paused and relented, "Well, maybe… But that's not what I meant!"

"…So what do you mean…?"

"Don't you get it! Boss is in love!"

"…Love…? With Ikki…?"

"Yes!"

"…Whatever. She can do better than that," Sloan muttered, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I know. But this means… no more worrying about somebody like Nathan showing up again!"

Sloan blinked. The amount of venom he'd heard in Spyke's tone as he mentioned the soccer player's name was rather surprising considering who it was coming from.

"…Come again?"

"Wasn't Nathan," and again Spyke's inflection of that name was oddly hateful, "the reason Boss nearly gave up on medabots before? He… changed her! He made Boss act all weird and not like herself!"

Sloan nodded slowly, recalling that entire debacle. He was beginning to see where Spyke was trying to go with this, even though the taller boy wasn't exactly known for his reasoning skills.

"So you think… if she's with Ikki… he won't change her like that? How can you be sure?"

"Sloan," Spyke gave his friend a strange look, "Ikki hangs with Erika all the time."

Sloan blinked again, then caught on. He nodded, slowly: for once, Spyke had a very valid point.

"Ahh… Gotcha."

Spyke nodded, smirking at his own admittedly sound (for once) logic. However, his smile quickly faded, replaced by concern and disappointment.

"Still… I wish Boss'd told us 'bout this sooner, 'stead of letting us find out with everybody else…"

"She probably wanted to keep it a secret," shrugged Sloan, not appearing too fazed.

Although he was actually just as surprised and saddened as his fellow Screw that they hadn't learned about this sooner, he tended to be better at masking his emotions and appearing more laid-back. Besides, Samantha was the Boss: whatever she said or did – or didn't say or do – went as law for the gang. If she had chosen not to fill them in on all the details right after they occurred, there had to be a perfectly good reason for it.

Pity Sloan was having such difficulty thinking of one right now.

"We can always ask her about it now," he mentioned, shrugging lightly again.

"That's right!" Spyke suddenly agreed, mood swinging from mopey to upbeat in a heartbeat. "Hey, where is Boss, anyway? Let's go find her and…"

The warning bell rang out clearly in the halls, letting everybody still milling around talking about the big news know it was time to move on to other matters for the time being.

"…Maybe after class," Sloan corrected him lowly, before the two Screws hurried off to their first hour classes.

~ * ~

Samantha trudged to her first hour class, dropped her books unceremoniously on the ground, and then leveled a frosty glare around her. The vast majority of her classmates, having stared at the girl from the moment she entered the room, hastily averted their eyes to the front of the room. Only a few of her peers remained staring at her for a few moments longer before they, too, withered under the force of her powerful glare.

In his own seat, Ikki squirmed uncomfortably, trying to ignore the fact that the other half of the couple that was suddenly the talk of all of Riverview Junior High. Naturally, he failed utterly: the attempt only drew more attention to him, and the furtive glances he ended up aiming at the Screw leader caused more hushed whispers to spring up among his classmates.

Spyke and Sloan were among the whisperers, sharing quick, meaningful glances between themselves as they studied their leader and tried to figure out how to approach her. Both ached to find out more, but both knew from experience it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to try and get anything from her she didn't want to give. Not without a fight, at least, something neither wanted at all…

Samantha aimed an especially harsh and cold stare at her supposed boyfriend, then grabbed one of her textbooks and propped it up in front of her, pretending to read.

Erika looked between the two subjects of her latest big story, deep chocolate eyes hardened into stone, revealing nothing of the raging emotions just beneath her calm exterior.

Ikki just sighed again and slumped down in his seat, trying to make himself as tiny as possible. He buried his head behind his crossed arms, peering out at everyone and knowing they were talking about him and his girlfriend…

This promised to be a very long day…


	3. Rumors Spread Like Wildfire

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Rumors Spread Like Wildfire (When You're Feeding the Flames) * ~

By the time the last school bell rang, freeing everybody for the rest of the afternoon, the rumor had long spread through the entire building.

The entire hallway seemed to shake as Samantha stomped toward her locker. For once, even the most opinionated of her peers who felt inclined to intervene and offer advice to the better half of Riverview's most popular new couple needed only a glimpse of her expression to realize now wasn't exactly the time. Instead, they parted to form a relatively large path for the fuming gang leader, enabling her easy access to her locker.

The door banged on its hinges as she wrenched it open. The onlookers backed up further.

Her books crashed against the back wall of the enclosure as she dumped them inside. The smarter kids decided it was time to spread their wisdom of what the new couple should do next elsewhere.

Her locker resonated with a loud CLANGGG as she slammed the door shut. Several more gawkers realized the value of a hasty retreat.

The latch, having not quite caught thanks to her rapid attempt at shutting her locker, remained unhooked as the door drifted open. Samantha just glared at it for one deathly silent minute, and more stragglers thought of other places they should be.

SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM!!

Samantha banged her fist into her locker's door, forcing it shut, and stood panting for breath, glaring off into space with blazing turquoise eyes. Her shoulders heaved as she gulped in air in a futile attempt to calm herself, her entire body trembling from stress and frustration.

The hallway was completely evacuated by the time she finally raised her head back up.

That was hardly a problem. The absolute last thing Samantha needed at that moment was for another idiot to approach her.

So far, that entire day, any moment she wasn't in class (and even the majority of time when she was), the Screws leader had been peppered with an endless barrage of unwanted questions, comments, observations and opinions from practically every other inhabitant of the school. Crude boys leering, jealous girls sneering, skeptics questioning, believers prodding, complaints, outcries, queries…

She'd lost count of how many pictures she'd torn off the walls and papers she'd trashed. But there seemed to be a never-ending supply of the libelous materials. For every piece she destroyed, three more ended up popping into view elsewhere, and while she attempted to deal with those, the things she'd just finished disposing of were quickly replaced.

Through some small miracle, she's managed to avoid meeting directly with her followers Spyke and Sloan since the news broke out. Oh, she'd seen them several times, but so far she'd been able to evade direct contact, and having to come up with the explanation she knew the boys were dying to hear.

(Explain…? Sure: I pulled a prank on Ikki and Erika to pay them back for everything they've put me through, and look what happened! That'll go over real nice…)

Samantha gritted her teeth and absently punched her locker again. Thankfully, the latch had caught securely, so it didn't end up swinging open on her again: had that occurred, it was likely the school would have had to replace it after she finished venting her pent-up anger on it.

Still, all her frustration needed an outlet, and very soon. At this point, only two options seemed workable. Either Peppercat was going to get some serious workouts as they tracked down the nearest robattle victims they could find, or…

Ikki's streak of incredible luck – incredibly bad luck – held true as he rounded the corner, worn out, annoyed, and not paying the least bit of attention to where he was going… or who was also in the immediate vicinity.

Samantha's head instantly snapped up, turquoise eyes narrowing as they locked onto the third-ranked medafighter's slumped form.

(Target sighted. Tracking…)

As if hypersensitive to her gaze, Ikki froze in mid-step, and slowly pivoted to face her, blue eyes wide as dinner plates and darting from side to side.

(The deer, suddenly sighting the lion preparing to pounce, acts on its primary instinct…)

Backing up a few steps, Ikki then whirled around and took off down the hall, Samantha directly behind him.

(And-ddd they're off--!!)

This situation was oddly familiar to both participants: it was hardly the first time the Screws leader had chased Ikki around in an attempt to take revenge for her ruined reputation. Only back then, she had wanted a robattle. Now, she was just out for blood.

Familiarity certainly didn't make the chase any less comfortable for Ikki.

It probably looked rather odd to anybody still straggling in the halls, that the high-ranked medafighter would flee a lower-ranked girl. Even if they knew she wasn't looking for a medabot fight, it wouldn't have made much sense, seeing as how Samantha was smaller and slighter than Ikki.

But it made perfect sense when one considered a few simple facts.

Firstly, Ikki was far from a great fighter. Sure, he could give commands to Metabee – though whether or not the KBT-type actually listened was another thing entirely – but trading punches himself? Not quite…

Also, Samantha was far from a fair fighter. Others might just punch and kick; she'd prefer clawing, tugging hair, and focusing the majority of her blows to a male's most sensitive region.

She made this tendency quite clear from the outset, as she suddenly lunged forward, seized Ikki's ponytail, and stopped short, bringing the boy to an abrupt halt. Even as Ikki let out a sound somewhere between a scream and a squeak, she yanked him around to face her and kicked him soundly, then grabbed the folding-over kid's collar and shoved him to the wall.

"I hope you're happy, Ikki," she snarled, leaning in close so that their noses were only inches apart. "Thanks to your little stunt, we're the laughingstock of the entire school…!"

Ikki groaned, and his survival instincts kicked in at that moment, causing him to do something neither expected: wrenching his arms free, he grabbed Samantha's shoulders and shoved her roughly to one side, trying solely to get her away.

Only the action forced her into the wall instead. The Screws leader gasped at the unexpected pain, aquamarine eyes involuntarily watering a little at the harsh impact. For a moment, the two just stared at each other, Ikki more than a bit stunned at the flash of vulnerability in the girl.

But that swiftly passed, the shock evaporating into rage and Samantha letting out an incoherent scream as she lunged for his neck.

The few remaining students in the general area gaped at the display, not knowing any other way to react other than stare. None of the stragglers thought to intervene, and when they noticed something the struggling pair failed to spot right away, decided their best course of action would be to quietly flee.

"Well, well, well. Trouble in paradise, Tenryou?"

Samantha and Ikki froze in mid-tussle, instantly recognizing that familiar voice and heartily wishing they hadn't. Slowly, inexorably, sapphire and turquoise eyes traced up thick tree trunk legs, to a barrel chest, to a stern face set in an almost permanent frown.

"I suppose this was another burst of youthful passion that couldn't wait until you were off school grounds?" questioned Coach Mountain, fixing the two with a penetrating stare.

Ikki felt his cheeks burn as it abruptly dawned on him how they had to appear right then: clothes rumpled, hair ruffled, holding each other in death grips, sweating and panting…

"Th-this isn't what it looks like!" protested Samantha lamely: obviously the realization had hit her hard as well.

Coach Mountain just continued to glare down at the two unlucky students, displeasure radiating off of his toned body in palpable waves. Oddly enough, however, there was a certain glint of satisfaction in his narrowed, beady eyes.

And Ikki had a pretty good idea why. The Principal was nowhere in sight.

~ * ~

"Gk-gk-gk-gk-gk-gk-gk!"

Henry sighed and looked over at the sputtering KBT-type sitting near the Hop Mart's doors. Although the Hercules Beetle medabot had been flipping through the latest issue of M-Club for the last several minutes, anybody could tell the magazine's articles were the last things on his mind.

"Calm down, Metabee," he soothed while shaking his head in dismay. "I'm certain Ikki will be here soon enough…"

"Gk-gk-gk--! Calm?! I am perfectly calm!" insisted Metabee, slamming the magazine down and glaring at everybody in the store with glowing green eyes. "Calm as any medabot can be when his medafighter's GONE MISSING!"

"Try not to jump to conclusions so quickly," Henry suggested, then added under his breath, "At the very least, try not to ruin the whole store when you blow up…"

"That's right, there must be a very good reason that Ikki is later than usual," piped Karin from where she sat at a nearby table, flanked by Koji and Rintaro. "Perhaps something came up at school, and he was detained…"

"Or maybe that commoner got lost on the way," Koji muttered, accenting his words with a roll of his violet eyes. A smug smirk played over his lips as he added, a bit too hopefully, "Or got into a terrible accident…"

"Oh, no!" gasped Karin. "Shouldn't we go look for him, then…?"

"No, no, never mind, I'm sure he's okay!" Koji hastily insisted, waving both arms wildly to soothe the worried girl. "It just takes a while sometimes for commoners to walk all the way from school to here…"

"…Oh… Okay. I just hope he gets here soon, then, so we don't have to worry anymore," Karin replied with a thankful smile.

"Dude, it is kinda weird, though," observed Rintaro. The hyper medafighter paused to lick his vanilla cone once, then continued thoughtfully, "Ikki usually doesn't take this long to get here… I mean, even Spyke and Sloan made it here before him!"

"…Boss isn't here, either," commented Spyke from where he slumped in his own seat next to his fellow Screw. His head rested between his folded arms on the table, and his eyes were fixed solidly on the door as he whimpered, "I'm worried… Shouldn't we go look for her, Sloan?"

"…She's probably with Ikki, wherever he is," murmured the shorter Screw, "and doesn't want to be bothered."

Spyke sank even further down in his seat, looking even more depressed at that comment.

"You're probably right," he sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Koji demanded, eyeing them suspiciously. "Why would Ikki want to be anywhere with Samantha, when he could be spending time basking in my company instead?"

Metabee rolled his eyes and muttered, "Egomaniac…"

Henry rolled his eyes and murmured, "Look who's talking…"

Sloan rolled his eyes and whispered, "How many reasons from the list do you want?"

Karin blinked and wondered, "What?"

"Dude, why do you think Ikki's with Samantha?" asked Rintaro.

"What, haven't you heard?" wondered Spyke, sitting up and looking around in surprise.

Several blank faces stared back at the two Screw members. Spyke and Sloan sweated, not knowing how to react to this situation. It wasn't very often either boy was placed in a situation where they knew something most of their friends weren't yet aware of.

Thankfully, they were saved the stress of having to explain by the chime of a little bell, as the doors swung open and everybody turned to see who had just walked into the Hop Mart.

"Want to know the latest buzz at Riverview?" announced Erika, brandishing several folded school newspapers with one hand, keeping the side with the picture turned away from everyone else in the store.

"Erika, what's wrong?" Henry asked immediately.

The clerk instantly knew that something had terribly shaken the young journalist recently. It was as clear as the dullness in her normally bright, expressive chocolate brown eyes, the lack of any bounce in her step, the almost monotone drone of her voice.

Behind the girl, Brass looked on in concern, rose eyes dim with worry. Considering that Henry had been expecting to see the Sailor-Multi sporting her brand-new meda-part and asking how she liked it earlier, the pain in her expression was all the more unbearable.

"What's wrong?" he repeated, ignoring as best he could the hint of desperation that had entered his voice.

Erika just gazed lifelessly back at him and the other stunned patrons of the Hop Mart, and indicated her newspapers again with a short wave.

"I've got the latest scoops, right here," she muttered. "Come on, take a look. I guarantee you won't believe what my newest big story is…"

"Fine, give me one," snapped an irritated Koji, snatching one of the newspapers. "If it'll shut you up…"

He unrolled it with one sharp flick of the wrist and glanced disinterestedly at the front page, expecting another exaggerated tale about some robattle Ikki and Metabee had recently won. Considering that was the topic of the majority of Erika's articles (or at least it appeared that way to Koji), it seemed an educated guess…

It took several seconds for the small glimpse he'd taken of the photograph on the front to fully register. Then the normally cultured boy promptly pulled a spit-take, nearly choking on the soda he'd been nonchalantly sipping as his bulging eyes focused back on the headline story.

Sloan and Spyke, knowing what caused this reaction, glanced knowingly at each other and winced. Erika failed to show any emotion, though one corner of her mouth quirked briefly in what might have almost been the start of a smirk.

The others just stared at Koji, then Erika, then each other. Rintaro and Metabee quickly broke the silence, naturally.

"Dude, let me see that!"

"Gimme one of those…!"

They each snatched a paper away from Erika's unresisting grasp, with Karin and Henry following their lead and taking their own copies far more politely. Absolute silence fell over the Hop Mart as each took several moments to absorb the headline story. Then…

"Oh my…"

"Dude--!"

"What?!"

"…Ah…"

~ * ~

Ikki limped down the street, Samantha leaning heavily against him. The two were completely worn out, thanks to their latest enrollment in Coach Mountain's heavy-duty exercise program/torture session. In fact, Ikki was gaining just as much support from the Screw leader as she was from him: removing either one would be certain to send the other toppling helplessly to the sidewalk.

In its own, odd way, the scene was almost… cute. In their utter exhaustion, the pair seemed completely oblivious to their current position. Samantha's head was resting against his shoulder, her arm draped behind his neck, while his arms were around her waist, helping support the weary girl.

At least, that was how it appeared from a distance. If one got a closer look, however, they'd realize that Samantha's arm wasn't just draped behind Ikki's neck – it was wrapped almost completely around it in a chokehold.

"I… am… so going… to… kill you… for… this…" she rasped lowly, glaring weakly up at the boy. "Once the… sidewalk… stops spinning…"

Ikki opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out were incoherent gasps for breath. Although Samantha was too weak to apply much pressure to any sort of grip she had on the boy, his own weariness was hardly helping matters. Instead, he put all his effort into lurching forward, hoping to find some sanctuary soon so both could rest.

Unfortunately, this was far from the case. As they drew closer to the Hop Mart, Ikki's blurring vision adjusted enough for him to make out several figures coming outside and moving toward them.

In front of the pack was a fuming, furious Hercules Beetle medabot.

"Gk-gk-gk-gk-gk! Ikki! So it's true, then!" roared Metabee, green eyes glowing.

"…Whuh?" was the boy's brilliant reply.

"Dude! I don't believe it!" shrilled Rintaro, running circles around the others in full-blown 'sugar rush mode'. "Dude, you two are really, like, an item?! Dude!!"

"I can't believe it," Henry murmured, running a hand through his raven hair and studying the pair with an amused and concerned expression. "I don't know what to think…"

"Oh, I'm so happy for both of you!" Karin declared, hands clasped in front of her and beaming with delight.

"Same here," added Koji with a smug smirk, reaching over and trying to drape an arm possessively over Karin's shoulders. However, she moved before he could finish, and the rich boy ended up toppling over and kissing pavement briefly.

"I'm so happy for you, Boss!" simpered Spyke, tears waterfalling down his face.

Sloan didn't say a word, but simply stared at them, not knowing what to say. Similarly, Brass was also struck silent by her own surprise, rose eyes wide as they shifted between the pair and over to where Erika was standing off to one side.

"Miss Erika…"

Erika's dark brown eyes were fixed solidly on Samantha and Ikki standing together, a dim spark of emotion sputtering in their otherwise empty depths. Reflexively, the young journalist raised her camera and snapped a few more shots of the pair, an automatic movement.

Brass seemed to be the only one paying any attention to her medafighter. Nobody else noticed her, or the sharp glance Henry shot in the junior reporter's direction. Even as his sharp eyes glinted with recognition and realization, however, his attention was drawn back to the others by Metabee's angry shouting.

"Gk-gk-gk! So that's where you were for so long yesterday?! That's why you didn't get home until so late?! 'Cause you were on a date with _her_…?!"

Ikki just stared at his medabot with tired blue eyes, swaying on his feet. Beside him, Samantha aimed a cold glare at Metabee – a glare that lost most of its edge thanks to her exhaustion.

"S… shut up…" she hissed, aiming a wobbly punch at the KBT-type. "Just shut… up…"

Suddenly, her aquamarine eyes closed, and the Screw leader reeled backward, on the verge of collapse. Only Ikki's arms around her waist kept the girl from falling over, and instead both sank to their knees, slumping against each other as their fatigue finally caught up with them. 

"Boss!"

"Oh, geez, we'd better get them inside, quick!" Henry declared, finally realizing just how worn out the two were.

As the others scrambled to help their weakened friends inside, their worried chattering blurred together for the barely conscious pair. Only one comment made by Rintaro cut though the confusing noise before they passed out completely…

"Dude, what were they doing to make them so tired…?"


	4. Friends Finding Out

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

By the way, several reviewers have mentioned wanting to write Samantha/Ikki stories of their own, but seem to be afraid it'll be viewed as copying. I've got just one thing to say to that: Go for it! I'd love to see other people writing about this or any other couples they can come up with! I'm not about to be anal about this and whine 'No, I made the pairing and you can't use it!' For crying out loud, I don't even own the rights to the characters! I have no claim on them, so why would I have any business telling you what you can or can't do with them? This is fanfiction, it's supposed to be fun and creative, and I'm not about to impede anybody's creativity.

…I should probably put that in the first disclaimer too, just to make sure everyone sees it. Anyway, in short, everyone: Go ahead! Nobody's going to stop you, least of all me.

~ * Friends Finding Out (Is Never a Pleasant Process) * ~

A dull moan accompanied Ikki Tenryou's return to consciousness as he slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on the cool green-white tiles of the Hop Mart's floor.

"Welcome back to the real world," commented Henry, learning over the boy with a smile and a cup of water in one hand.

Unable to say a word, Ikki just nodded weakly and reached for the drink, gulping down the cool, fresh, wonderful liquid. Henry smiled sympathetically even as he stepped back to retrieve two more glasses of water: another for Ikki, and one for Samantha once she woke up. Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on your view of things – he'd seen the symptoms of a Coach Mountain training session many times before. It was to the point where he didn't even ask questions anymore, just dealt with it like it was a normal, everyday occurrence.

Sadly, there were times when it seemed like a normal, everyday occurrence.

"So, feeling better now that you're back among the living?" the teenaged clerk asked.

"This is living?" Ikki choked out slowly, turning his tired blue eyes on his older friend in what could have been a glare if he wasn't still so weary.

Henry just smiled, sweating a little.

Ikki looked around a bit, trying to get his bearings back and see exactly where he was. As it turned out, he was sitting on the floor in one corner of the Hop Mart, away from the door. Henry was sort of hovering nearby, standing in the general area and keeping an eye on the recovering kids while looking busy at the same time.

Samantha was lying next to her rumored boyfriend, obviously still out cold. Ikki watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest for a while, envious of the fact that she was still getting rest while he was awake and once again feeling twinges of pain from his workout. It was practically a crime for her to look so peaceful like that, chestnut hair fanned out around her relaxed face, with him right there still suffering…

"Dude, can you quit staring at her for just a minute already?"

That loud, abrupt question made Ikki snap his head up so sharply Henry swore he heard a crack. However, the third-ranked medafighter didn't so any reaction that hinted he'd hurt himself again: instead, he just gaped in shock, wide blue eyes meeting wider purple eyes.

"R… Rin…"

"Even if you like her a whole lot, dude," the shorter boy paused in his sage advice long enough to lick his dripping ice cream cone once, "It's kinda rude to stare."

"Rintaro…?" sputtered Ikki, pointing dumbly at him.

"That's my name!" Rintaro grinned widely, adding, "See, dude, you're already making progress! Not only are you not staring at your girlfriend, you're talking to your friends again, dude!"

"Heh. Commoners like him don't exactly have a penchant for decent manners," Koji commented, and Ikki turned his head to see the rich boy sitting at a nearby table and smirking smugly.

"Koji… you…" Ikki started slowly, staring not only at his rival but at who was seated next to him.

"Well, I'm glad to see you like her so much," beamed Karin. Hands clasped in front of her and stars in her jaden eyes, she went on, "Oh, it's just all so romantic! Don't you think so, Koji?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course, Karin," hastily agreed Koji with a vigorous nod.

"Secret meetings in the park and sharing kisses in front of the lake," the redhead continued dreamily. "Watching the sun set together…"

"Doesn't seem like something Ikki could come up with, does it?" Koji prompted, not certain he exactly liked the tone of voice she was using to describe it.

"Really," muttered Metabee, glaring at the boy over the top of the magazine he was pretending to read while 'ignoring' the conversation.

"But he did, Koji," insisted Spyke, wondering why that was even under debate. "I even saw the note he put in Boss's locker when she found it yesterday."

"Really, dude?!" Rintaro rounded on the boy, nearly plowing over Sloan in his overeager haste to learn all about what was going on. "Tell us what it said!"

"Yes, please!" added a still starry-eyed Karin.

"Yeah, we'd all love to hear it," drawled Koji.

The rich boy gave Ikki a very meaningful glance, and it didn't take much for his rival to understand what he meant.

(Why don't _you_ be the one to enlighten us, Ikki? Just see how much Karin wants to hear about your new girlfriend…)

"You guys…"

"I don't remember the exact words he used," Spyke said, not realizing Ikki was trying to interrupt, "But I remember the general idea."

"It told Boss that he wanted to talk to her, to meet him at the park around sundown, and to come alone," recited Sloan quietly.

"Wow…!" breathed Karin.

"Dude, how cool is that?" Rintaro seconded the emotion, pumping a fist in the air.

"It's almost like a soap opera," Metabee observed mildly, then quickly added, "the ones that come on between the commercials, that is."

"You're right," Brass agreed with her fellow medabot slowly.

However, the Sailor-Multi was not paying as much attention to Ikki's being grilled by the others over his no longer secret meeting with the still sleeping Samantha as she was the lone figure standing away from the other children, quietly watching, observing. Every now and then, the girl snapped a photograph of the scene, or jotted down quotes on her notepad.

"Miss Erika…"

From the moment Erika had come running into the house yesterday Brass had known something was wrong. Her medafighter's distress had been all the more confusing because when she had left earlier, insisting that Brass stay behind, she had been in a very good mood… The type she was normally in when she knew about a really good, exclusive story, or some wonderful secret had brightened her day.

She'd left happy, self-satisfied, and eager. She'd returned crying, heartbroken and despondent.

At the time, Brass had no clue what had happened. Erika hadn't exactly been forthcoming with details, unusual enough in itself considering the girl's dream profession: instead she rushed to her room a sobbing wreck, clutching something tightly wrapped to her chest, slammed the door in the startled SLR-type's face, and locked it.

She locked the door.

She locked Brass – her best friend and most trusted confident – out of her room.

That, in itself, set alarm bells off for the Sailor-Multi. Whatever had changed her medafighter's mood so abruptly not only hurt her bad enough to make her attitude do a complete about-face… she couldn't talk to her own medabot about it.

Couldn't talk about it… or wouldn't talk about it.

And Brass had no clue what to do about it.

She hadn't known how to handle being locked out all night, listening at the door to her friend's anguished sobbing and frenzied muttering.

She hadn't known what to do when Erika emerged early the next morning, passed her without even a greeting, and headed off to school by herself.

She hadn't known what her next move should be when she tried meeting her just outside the school after it let out, only to get several folded papers dumped into her arms and led to the Hop Mart.

She hadn't known what to think when the reason why Erika was acting so strangely finally made itself known.

Suddenly, it had been as clear as the front-page spread, the massive color picture plastered over the newspaper of Ikki and Samantha kissing.

Ikki and Samantha. Kissing each other.

And Erika was the one who'd witnessed it all. Taken the pictures. Written the article.

Erika had seen the exact moment when her own heart shattered – and documented the entire thing.

And Brass hadn't known. Hadn't been there for her. Hadn't helped her through the shock.

She hadn't been there for her own medafighter.

Now that she finally knew… What could she do? Was there any possible way she could draw Erika back out of the shell she'd withdrawn into?

(Or will Miss Erika have to come out on her own… the same way she went into this alone?)

Standing beside her and still pretending to read his magazine (even though it was clear he still wasn't reading a word), Metabee was actually grappling with questions that, in a sense, mirrored the Sailor-Multi medabot's own doubts.

(Ikki never said a word to me about any of this. Not only did he ditch me yesterday, then show up late, worrying his mother…! But now… this…!)

It could be seen as a matter of trust, repeatedly broken and abused by both sides in the past, eventually patched up into the partnership they currently shared.

It could be seen as a matter of friendship, the need for both members of an equal team such as theirs to be completely honest with each other as much as possible and always know what the other was up to.

It could be seen as a matter of nosiness, the result of one medabot's overwhelming curiosity and love for the soap operas that came on between commercials playing with his overactive imagination and demanding he learn the whole story as soon as possible.

No matter how much that last item played a factor, however, Metabee was unlikely to acknowledge it.

So it boiled down to the KBT-type believing that, in keeping a secret as major as the possibility that he and Samantha were an item from him, Ikki was undermining their ability to trust each other and work as a team.

That was why Metabee felt it was perfectly justifiable for him to glare daggers at Ikki's head and silently debate whether to use Seeker Missiles to blast his medafighter all the way back home.

Even without the threat of immediate bodily harm hanging over his head, however, Ikki was far from comfortable. All of his friends were not only accepting the rumor about him and Samantha being a couple, but seemed to be dealing with it very nicely – something he certainly couldn't say about himself.

Henry had retreated some distance away from the group, once again busying himself while keeping an eye on everything. A thoughtful smile was on the teenager clerk's face as he studied Ikki even while working away.

Rintaro was bouncing around like normal, bombarding his hapless friend with questions about the relationship, suggestions on how Ikki should treat his girl, and other tidbits that were blurring together thanks to the hyper boy's rapid speech.

Spyke and Sloan were studying his reactions, as if sitting in judgement on how his replies to any suggestion might possibly affect their beloved Boss. While Ikki knew he and Metabee could easily defeat both at once in a robattle, somehow, that didn't take away his uneasiness at their scrutiny.

Koji was smirking like the saber-tooth tiger that just caught the pretty nurse he's been chasing – to use an analogy that occurred to Ikki as he studied his rival's expression. He seemed certain that something wonderful had suddenly been hand-delivered to him on a silver platter, something he'd been trying to get for a long time and now was even more certain he would eventually have.

Right beside the boy, Karin continued to coo in delight over the romance of it all, her perfect features made all the more radiant by her beaming exuberance. Caught up in her excitement, she seemed utterly ignorant of the open looks Koji was giving her, glances filled with appraisal, satisfaction, and possession. 

Not only that, but Samantha was still snoozing away beside him, fast asleep and oblivious to the situation. Just as her nap enabled her to avoid physical agony from the after-effects of their workout, it helped her elude the mental anguish Ikki currently suffered.

No, it hardly seemed fair. Ikki shot her sleeping body a long, cold glare in a silent expression of his frustration.

Unfortunately for him, the others noticed it. Even worse, they misinterpreted it.

"Dude! I told you not to stare!"

"If you're going to shoot your lover affectionate glances, Ikki, it's much better if she happens to be awake."

"You're worried about Boss too, Ikki? It sure it taking her a while to wake up…"

"Oh, I know! Why not wake her up with a kiss?"

"What?!" exclaimed Ikki, feeling his cheeks burn again as he gaped at Karin.

"Like the fairy tale, remember?" Karin explained, beaming at her own ingenuity. "The handsome prince kisses the sleeping princess, causing her to open her eyes, and they live happily ever after!"

Over in the corner, Metabee made a sound oddly like gagging, and gripped his magazine so tightly the cover began to tear. Henry glanced over in concern.

"Rip that up, and you'll have to pay for it," he warned the KBT-type.

Brass stared over at her medafighter, rose eyes filled with sympathy, wishing she knew some way to help ease the pain she had to be feeling thanks to this entire situation. Erika seemed unaware of the SLR-type's compassion, her dull brown eyes locked on Ikki's blushing face. Similarly, the other young medafighters seemed unaware of the reporter's reactions, as they rounded on Ikki and supported Karin's idea.

"Dude, go for it!"

"Hey, can that really work, Sloan?" inquired Spyke, glancing quizzically at his fellow Screw, who simply shrugged.

"Come on, Ikki, try it," Karin pleaded, jaden eyes wide with delight.

"Yeah, come on, Ikki," echoed Koji, smirking. "Why not go ahead and kiss her? You did once already…"

That did it. Sapphire eyes filling with anger, Ikki took a deep breath and prepared to launch into a very loud and extremely vocal denial that he could feel even the slightest thing for Samantha.

But before the first syllable passed his lips, Rintaro leaned forward and shoved Ikki hard in the back, sending him sprawling to one side – and directly on top of Samantha.

The next thing Ikki knew, he was lying nose to nose with the Screw leader, Rintaro's loud cheers and Koji's whispered jeers ringing in his ears. Karin, Spyke and Sloan had lapsed into silence, like they were holding their breath waiting for the kiss.

All Ikki could do for a breathless moment was stare down at Samantha's relaxed, sleeping face. Some unknown factor at the back of his mind idly noted again how peaceful she looked, how pretty when she wasn't scowling at him or screwing up her features in some expression of anger. It then declared that the only thing really keeping this from being perfect was the fact that those beautiful bottomless pools of aquamarine that were her eyes were closed.

Then suddenly those beautiful bottomless pools of aquamarine that were her eyes flashed open. Said pools quickly filled with surprise, confusion and shock

That was about the same instant that Ikki realized that his attempt to stop his awkward fall had caused one of his hands to land in an even more awkward position.

Said pools traded surprise, confusion and shock for surprise, shock and boiling rage.

Erika just stood silently in the corner, snapping pictures of the whole thing.


	5. Some Wonderful Dream

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The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Some Wonderful Dream (And So-called Nightmarish Reality)) * ~

(Ikki is going to die for this.)

After passing out from exhaustion (courtesy of Coach Mountain's training/torture sessions of doom), Samantha had been having the most wonderful dream. She beat the snot out of Ikki for embarrassing her, then went after Erika for ruining her reputation. After teaching both of them a lesson, she then found herself embraced from behind.

Surprised at first, she twisted around and found herself staring at a face masked almost completely in shadows. Only his eyes – somehow Samantha knew this strangely familiar person was a male – were visible, yet the surge of annoyance she felt at his unexpected grasp faded as she gazed into those deep, alluring eyes.

Something in those startlingly clear, bright twin panes of shimmering sapphire put her at ease, making the unexpected embrace feel… right, somehow.

But before she could get a better look at her somehow familiar companion's hidden face, the pressure on her chest increased abruptly, and she snapped awake. Ikki instantly replaced her mysterious visitor, and it only took a few seconds for Samantha to figure out her current position.

Flat on her back against some cool, smooth surface with Ikki practically on top of her with one of his hands resting where it most certainly had no business whatsoever resting.

(Ikki is _soooo_ going to die for this.)

It was clear from the horrified expression on Ikki's face that he knew he was screwed. The boy had gone sheet white, save for the furious red spreading over his cheeks, his blue eyes shrinking into pinpoints.

"Sa-Sam-Samantha!! I-I can ex-explain…!!"

"Ikki," muttered the Screw leader in a dangerously calm, level voice, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing…?!"

Silence. A long, tense stretch of silence. After a few unbearably long seconds, a large vein appeared on the back of the girl's head.

"GET OFF OF ME, YOU PERVERT--!!"

"Waaaaahhh--!"

Instantly Ikki sprang backwards as if jet-propelled, covering a good distance and landing on his rear a few feet away. Samantha leapt to her feet, aquamarine eyes burning with such tangible outrage that they almost seemed to glow, not unlike Metabee's eyes when he became incensed. Ikki cowered at her wrath, holding his arms out defensively in front of his wincing face.

"Dude, that was cool! I didn't know you could jump like that, Ikki!" piped Rintaro from the sidelines, purple eyes wider than usual.

"Did you see that?" an equally impressed Spyke whispered to Sloan while pointing at Ikki.

"Mm-hmm," Sloan affirmed with a nod. "Looks like he'll fit in just fine…"

"Fit in?!" echoed Ikki, not certain he liked what he thought the stocky Screw was implying. "Fit in where?!"

"I could give you an answer to that question," Koji replied with a smug smirk, "but since more sheltered minds such as dear Karin here and Spyke are present, I believe I'll pass."

"What do you mean by that, Koji?" asked Karin blankly.

"What did he mean by that, Sloan?" whispered Spyke with an equally clueless look on his face.

"Oh, nothing…"

"Will somebody please explain what's going on here?" Samantha snarled, as she somehow managed to fix one of her death glares on everybody in the Hop Mart at once.

A collective unease settled over all of the occupants of the convenience store at once, save for one member, who instantly volunteered an explanation without any thought as to how the fuming leader of the Screws might react.

"Oh, we were just talking about how Ikki and you have become boyfriend and girlfriend," Karin explained simply, beaming. "We were beginning to worry about you, since you hadn't woken up since your arrival, and came up with the idea that Ikki should try kissing you… you know, like in the fairy tale…?"

"Really," growled Samantha, glaring at the bubbly redhead with frigid turquoise eyes.

"Yes. Oh, you should have seen how cute you looked together when Ikki leaned over you like that, ready to wake you up with a kiss…!"

Meanwhile, a completely crimson-faced Ikki was trying to take advantage of Samantha's distraction to quietly excuse himself from the Hop Mart and return home. After all, his mother was certain to be missing him right now, since he hadn't been able to call home and explain why he wouldn't be returning right after school, thanks to his previously unscheduled activity…

However, Samantha suddenly switched her glare from the happily oblivious Karin over to him before he could step outside, and silently promised much more pain if she was forced to chase him down after getting the entire story. Ikki gulped and retreated back to the tables, sinking as far down in his seat as possible and heartily wishing for the ground to open up and swallow him.

Koji watched his rival squirm and smiled nastily. He noticed Ikki's sapphire gaze drifting over to where he sat next to Karin, gave a little wave, then draped his arm on the seat directly behind the blissfully chatting redhead and grinned.

Suddenly, Ikki was wishing the ground would open up and swallow Koji instead.

Henry observed this silent exchange between the pair of rivals and shook his head, torn between wanting to laugh or sigh at their posturing. While he still wasn't entirely certain what to make of the situation between Ikki and Samantha, it was all too clear that the boy still harbored some feelings for Karin.

(That's only going to make things worse, no matter what's going on between him and Samantha… Not to mention the problem with Erika…)

Averting his eyes from the scene, Henry suddenly noticed something that caught his immediate attention. Just outside the Hop Mart, standing in front of the thick pane of glass that served as a window into the shop, was a lone person who had separated from the crowds passing by.

Normally, this wouldn't have been of much interest to an employee. After all, plenty of people paused to look at the different displays set up in the window, to see whatever the latest shipment had brought in or what was on sale. For most workers, the only way this straggler would have mattered was if they decided to come inside and look around, since then they might be able to sell something to them.

But Henry wasn't exactly your typical bored teenage clerk. His talent for observing as many details as possible in a short amount of time caused him to notice something that instantly set his danger scene silently blaring in his mind.

Although the glare of light off the glass interfered with his view of the stranger, he could tell their eyes were not focused on the display. Instead, they stared directly past the shiny new medabot bodies and meda-parts and were locked firmly on the group of children gathered inside.

"So it's your fault I woke up with Ikki on top of me?!"

Henry looked over quickly to see Samantha now glaring at a sweating Rintaro: obviously she'd just learned the hyperactive medafighter had been the one who pushed Ikki into the position where she's found him.

"D-dude, calm down! It's not like you wouldn't have ended up like that sooner or later…"

That was the wrong thing to say, it seemed, as Samantha screeched in outrage and punched Rintaro hard enough to knock him right into Koji, knocking both boys over and upending their chairs in the process.

"Rinty-poo! Koji!" cried Karin, jumping out of her seat in time to avoid getting knocked over as well and turning at once to check on the two dazed boys.

"Serves him right, the little pervert!" snarled a very pissed – and lightly blushing, oddly enough – Samantha.

As Koji struggled to shove the dazed Rintaro off of him and get up, the others engrossed in another loud conversation, Henry glanced back over to the window where he's glimpsed the stranger observing. There was no longer anybody there, but Henry knew better than to dismiss anything as unimportant. A nagging sensation in the back of his mind insisted he had plenty of right to worry – all too often, things never remained remotely peaceful for this group very long.

Of course, at this moment, there was very little that could be called peaceful about their current situation.

"All right, all right, break it up," he ordered, walking over and helping Rintaro and Koji to their feet. "This isn't a place for fighting, with or without medabots…"

"Dude! I don't get it, dude!" sputtered Rintaro as he clutched his aching nose. "Dude, what'd I say?"

"If you want to fight over this," Koji hissed dangerously, "then why not make it a robattle?"

"Um, how is me fighting against Peppercat related in any fashion to Rintaro shoving Ikki and Samantha into an admittedly compromising position?" inquired Sumilidon from Koji's meda-watch.

Koji blinked, taken off guard by this sensible question, and looked blankly down at his wrist, then over at Rintaro. Both violet-eyed boys stared at each other, then at Rintaro's yellow and black meda-watch.

"Hey, leave me out of this," Kantaroth immediately protested.

"They do have a point," Karin noted.

"You're right, Karin," Koji agreed at once, nodding and smiling at the redhead. Glancing over at Ikki, he sneered as he added, "It's not worth my time or effort, anyway. Even if her boyfriend wanted to try and defend her honor…"

For a minute, it almost looked like Ikki would rise to the bait: his blue eyes flashed with anger as he leveled a glare at his rival, trembling with the suppressed need to see some of the wind let out of the rich snob's sails. However, before he could react, Samantha stepped between the two.

"I can defend my own honor just fine, thank you very much," she informed him icily. With a crack of her knuckles, she added, "We don't even have to involve our medabots, either. I can take on a pansy like you no problem."

"Pansy?!" exploded a furious Koji.

"What, don't tell me you'd rather be a rose with all the thorns cut off?" Samantha asked, smirking.

Ikki snorted, then burst into laughter at the classic expression on his rival's face. He soon trailed off, however, when he noticed several details.

Although Koji's glowering at him didn't faze the boy much, the fact that Sloan had also immediately laughed at Samantha's quip did. Spyke had also chuckled, though his somewhat confused expression hinted he didn't quite understand the joke. Irrationally, Ikki recalled Sloan's earlier comment.

(Looks like he'll fit in just fine…)

Koji's sick attempt at a joke aside, Ikki had understood immediately what the shortest Screw meant. Samantha had ordered him to jump, and he'd all but responded with "How high?" …The same way that Spyke or Sloan would have complied to her command.

(Okay, big deal. So I reacted the way any rational human being would have in that situation. So what…?)

(And so what if I happened to laugh at a funny joke she made at the same time one of her buddies did? It doesn't mean anything – or at least it shouldn't!)

"Even if Samantha and I are supposed to be a couple, that doesn't automatically make me a part of the Screws gang!!"

"What!?" Metabee yelped from near the magazine rack, as the copy of M-Club he'd been mangling suddenly ripped in half.

"Great… I hope you're going to pay for that," sighed Henry.

"Ikki… nobody ever said anything about that," a rather startled Samantha pointed out, staring at her supposed boyfriend.

"…Oh, kuso! Did I just say that last part out loud?!"

"…Um, yeah," Spyke confirmed, now completely confused and concerned with Ikki's behavior. "…Are you… feeling okay, Ikki?"

"…Noooo," the high-ranked medafighter wailed, turning and banging his head against the closest wall.

"Are you all right, Ikki?" Karin wondered.

"Ikki, dude… Maybe you'd better go take a rest, dude," observed a sweating Rintaro.

"A rest… Rest is good," commented Ikki, snapping his head up and smiling very strangely. "Rest is very good. Maybe I'll wake up and find out this whole day was just a dream…"

For once, even Karin was sweating nervously as she watched Ikki stumble toward the door, still muttering about the wholesomeness of sleep and the possibility of everything being a dream. The group's condition only got worse as he slammed into the wrong side of the door, staggered backward, then limped outside in a daze.

"…Dude, should we tell him this isn't a dream?"

"I think we should let him figure that out for himself," decided Koji, shaking his head at his rival's delusions.

"Metabee, you'd better go after him and make certain he doesn't wander into the river or something," Brass observed.

"Aw, whatever," griped the KBT-type, heading after his medafighter. As he dashed after Ikki, they heard him call out, "Yo, Ikki, watch out for that…"

The others winced as they watched the dazed boy walk directly into one of the telephone poles lining the sidewalk. He staggered backward, giving Metabee enough time to catch up and lead him in the general direction of his house. Everyone stared after them for a long moment, as an awkward silence fell over those remaining in the Hop Mart. Finally, Henry spoke up.

"Why am I not surprised that Metabee forgot about his magazine?" he asked, holding up the ripped remains of the issue of M-Club.


	6. Since We Fell

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The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

Warning: this particular chapter is more focused on plot development and introducing certain antagonists into the mix than romantic comedy. It's still important and has a sprinkling of humor near the end, but is far darker in tone for most of the way through. Also, if you still haven't seen the last few episodes of the WRC, this contains some spoilers for certain occurrences. Sorry, but they couldn't be entirely avoided.

~ * Part Six: Since We Fell (You're Going Down With Us – Maybe) * ~

A darkened, dirty alleyway overflowed with refuse, entry from the main street completely blocked off by a haphazardly stacked pile of boxes and trashcans. This was actually not really a problem for whoever happened to walk by on their way to wherever, as few normal people particularly liked traveling through narrow, cramped, rancid places.

The sole person who actually crouched behind that cover of boxes was far from normal.

The small figure removed his sunglasses and blew once on them, wiping them with a tattered gray cloth. Lifting them up for inspection, he noticed the tiny reflection of part of his face in the dark lenses. Beady black eyes set in a face that was youthful, but far from innocent, what little dirty white blond hair he had pulled into a single spike set far on his forehead… he looked every bit the part of a bad guy, even without the telltale rubber suit he wore.

Shrimplips quickly put his sunglasses back on so that nobody could see it when he squeezed those beady eyes in silent pain.

Still a Rubberobo. After all that had happened at the World Robattle Cup, he was still a Rubberobo.

Not that he really wanted to be, anymore. It was just that he no longer really had a say in the matter.

Looking back, it was difficult for the not-so-young man to understand how he had gotten to this point. Oh, certainly he could point the finger at the usual suspects – Ikki, Metabee, and all the rest of their little posse – but truth be told, he knew they were not entirely to blame for his current fate.

(Doesn't mean I can't try, though.)

Hard to believe that just a few days ago, he never would have dreamed his life would get this bad. Just a week prior, the little man had been on top of the world, celebrating with his fellow conspirators over the perceived success of their latest and grandest scheme. It had been in the typical fashion for them: basically, they got pissed drunk and cackled about all the stuff they'd do once they pulled this off and became rich, famous (or infamous), and powerful.

(Those were the good old days… If I'd known I'd have ended up here just a week from then, things might have been different…)

(…I would have drunk more.)

Alas, not only had he not gotten as smashed as he might have liked, but when things came tumbling down again (and they would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling kids and their medabots…!), he hadn't simply hit rock bottom. No, he'd dropped right through the floor – literally.

(Betrayed by our own boss… probably should have seen it coming, but then, I guess Rubberobos aren't known for our observational skills…)

Well, Shrimplips was sick of it. He was sick of being used, sick of being manipulated and sick of being discarded once he was no longer useful. It was time for a change, time to turn his life around and make something of himself other than a half-rate crook.

Pity there was no chance of that happening.

Ironically, the grand scale of their last scheme had backfired on them in a bigger way than they ever imagined. Bad enough their dreams of world conquest and respect had been dashed, but so had their chances at a normal, non-evil lifestyle.

A bitter chuckle escaped the small Rubberobo. Thanks to the role they'd played during the World Robattle Cup scam, he and his 'elite' cohorts achieved the notoriety they'd craved for so long. Having your faces broadcast all over the globe while you're standing there admitting your role in attempting to recreate the Ten Days of Darkness has that effect, apparently.

They'd come so close… too close for many people's comfort.

Even though they had failed, therefore… they weren't considered harmless crooks anymore. No, now they were potential threats, and had to be dealt with…

Shrimplips had entertained thoughts of turning clean for a while, only to have them forced out of his head entirely. Contrary to the majority of the general public's beliefs, being a Rubberobo did not automatically make you completely insane.

(Partly insane, maybe, but not entirely. Not all of us.)

So far, Shrimplips knew of only one of his former comrades who actually stood a snowball's chance in hell of turning his life around without losing it to an angry mob searching for scapegoats. And that was only because he happened to have certain connections he'd been able to call upon… connections he'd failed to realize he even possessed until it was almost too late, and latched onto for dear life at the last possible minute.

Ironically, the one who had been most adamant about not turning his back on the Rubberobo Gang was also the one with the best chance of doing so successfully.

(Lucky, stupid, slugs-for-brains…)

Considering that he hadn't run into his old 'leader' since he'd been forced to fall back upon the gang, Shrimplips had to assume he'd finally wised up and seized his chance for a normal life.

Shrimplips had no such luxury. For the toddler-sized Rubberobo, there was no pretty young thing waiting and willing to whisk him away from his so-called life of crime. He had no friends in high places – no real friends at all he could call upon, count upon. Not even his former ally who'd managed to luck out.

He hadn't really seen his other two companions since the World Robattle Cup: they'd split up after escaping immediate punishment to avoid getting recaptured together. But Shrimplips had little doubt he'd be running into them again sooner or later. As far as he knew, neither one of them had anybody to help pull them out of this pit they'd plunged into headfirst.

(Heh, maybe it'll be good to see some of the old gang back together. At least it'll mean I'm not going through this hell on my own…)

Even if they never showed up, however, Shrimplips was fully aware of the fact that he wasn't going through this entirely alone. After all, the Rubberobos hadn't consisted of merely four members – and he and his three constant companions were far from the only 'elite' of the organization's number.

With Meta-Evil's departure and uncertain future with the gang (after all, he had betrayed them when it seemed his plans were coming to fruition, smooth move on his part considering how it had all panned out), the Rubberobos were facing a new era. Those who hadn't abandoned their former life, been killed during the fiasco, or arrested afterward, were quickly and quietly pulling together.

Like it or not, they needed each other now to survive. That meant agents who had once been assigned to different groups now had to work together – and new elite members had to replace those who were gone for whatever reasons.

In fact, Shrimplips had already partnered up with another promising agent. In all honesty, he had been keeping an eye on this particular Rubberobo for some time now. Experience had taught him how to distinguish between real, raw talent and some poser who was on a lucky streak or had been paired up with a more powerful medabot than they deserved.

If his unit had held a bit more respect among the Rubberobos, Shrimplips might have even taken a leap of faith back then and requested she be transferred to his group. Sadly, not only was it probable that his so-called 'elite' teammates might have taken offense at the thought of bringing a fifth into their number, but doing so would have called more attention to him than he was comfortable with.

He might even have found himself kicked out of the group in order to 'make room' – practically equivalent to a death warrant.

Slots in the upper echelon were difficult to earn, and sometimes even more difficult to keep. Shrimplips was fully aware that only his rank kept him relatively shielded from certain punks who disliked taking orders from a baby-faced midget. Losing his rank for any reason would have likely meant more than a change of uniform.

But all that was in the past and the dissolution of his unit meant Shrimplips could finally team up with others… rather, that he needed to in order to keep hold of his station.

Stealing one final look around him, Shrimplips insured that nobody would be able to spot his small figure crouched in the alleyway, then hunched down further behind his cover and adjusted his pacifier/transmitter.

"Shrimplips to Sashimi, do you copy?" he whispered, knowing his low voice would come in loud and clear to his partner if she were tuned in properly.

"I read you, Shrimplips. Go ahead."

Several miles away, another Rubberobo stood in the shadows, although she was a bit more blatant about her position. Instead of crouching further back in the alleyway she had taken refuge in, she leaned against the brick wall closer to the main street. Then again, she had far less to fear, considering she was dressed in far more civilian attire. The collar of her pale gray jacket was turned up to mask the small radio transceiver she was speaking into, held into place by one hand.

"How goes the surveillance?" asked the smaller Rubberobo.

"Very well. I have to admit I thought it would be more of a challenge than this to keep tabs on the troublemakers."

"Don't get cocky," Shrimplips warned. "They might look like easy targets 'cause they're kids, but remember that they're anything but…"

"I know. I'm fully aware of all the trouble they've caused in the past." There was a tense pause, and then she went on, "I suppose that means you wish me not to pursue Tenryou, then?"

"…What?"

Cold blue eyes fixated on a staggering boy in a bright crimson shirt as the other Rubberobo explained, "Tenryou has left the building, and doesn't seem all that sure on his feet. The beetle is with him. Although he looks like an easy mark…"

"Looks can be deceiving," Shrimplips finished for her, sweat trickling uncomfortably down the back of his head and causing his uniform to cling to his skin. "As tempting as it may seem, don't move in for the kill just yet. It's too soon for a confrontation. If he learns that the Rubberobo gang isn't disbanded before we've regained enough strength…"

"Understood."

Lowering her hand from her collar and stuffing it into her jeans pocket, the civilian-dressed Rubberobo assumed an air of nonchalance, acting as if she simply happened to be glancing in Ikki's direction as the worn-out, delirious boy staggered down the street. His stumbling path was leading right past her stakeout point: not surprising considering it was the direction his home was in.

Of course she knew where the young Tenryou lived: most of the Rubberobos did thanks to a previous plot the gang had pulled while attempting to curtail his efforts to make it to the WRC.

As she observed his progress down the street quietly, Ikki strode right into a telephone pole, then toppled backwards onto the pavement, his face reddened from the impact.

"…Ow."

The boy righted himself and absently patted off his shirt, blue eyes still drooping with exhaustion. That probably explained why he turned and promptly tripped over the garbage can sitting not more than a few strides' distance away from the telephone pole he had just walked into.

"Ow."

The disguised Rubberobo allowed herself a faintly amused giggle. The Hercules Beetle medabot who ran over to the boy was not nearly as amused.

"Gk-gk-gk! Ikki, pull yourself together, willya! This is embarrassing!"

Metabee's green eyes flashed with annoyance as he pulled his partner back to his feet. Ikki didn't appear to be paying any attention to him whatsoever, a fact that only soured the KBT-type's mood.

"Man, I bet even Krosserdog never has to go through this with Spyke…"

Clenching Ikki's wrist tightly to keep the boy from running into anything else, Metabee led him along the sidewalk in the general direction of their house. The last thing he needed was his partner killing himself before they got home.

Metabee was saving that particular honor for himself, once he was certain Ikki was of sound enough mind to understand what was going on and why he was being punished.

As they headed homeward, however, Metabee felt a sudden prickle at the base of his neck, and the confused KBT-type turned around. His bright green eyes passed over the sidewalk stretching behind them once, twice, searching for whatever it was that had caused such a strange uneasiness.

His searching stare soon fell upon the only other living being in sight that wasn't walking past or hurrying away, a lone figure leaning against the brick wall just inside one of the alleyways they had passed. Metabee took brief note of their appearance – slender female, looking maybe a bit older than Ikki or his friends, pale shoulder-length white-blonde hair, blue eyes, jeans and jacket – then shrugged and moved on. Nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary, and he brushed off the strange sensation as simply irritation at his Medafighter.

Cold ice blue eyes bore into the pair's backs at they walked out of sight. One hand rose to cup the collar of her slate gray jacket, once again masking the lower half of her face as the Rubberobo renewed conversation with her partner.

"Looks like they're headed home for the time being," she noted. "I take it the surveillance at the Tenryou household will continue tabs on them from there…"

"Probably," agreed Shrimplips, "if they're doing their job. Like I said, though, it's suicide to make a move just yet, without a decent plan…"

"A plan, huh?"

There was an odd quality to the female Rubberobo's tone, and the former member of the 'elite' four wasn't entirely certain he liked it. Shrimplips heard something rustling over his transmitter, and strained to make out the noise.

"Have you got something for us, Sashimi?" he wondered aloud, not so asking his partner as musing to himself what this could mean.

With a flick of her wrist, the disguised Rubberobo smoothed out the folded newspaper she had tucked underneath her arm and held it out in front of her, icy eyes once more scanning over the bold headline and colorful photograph plastered on the front page. A smug smirk curled her lips as her frigid gaze traveled from the glaring print to the window of the store before her.

On the other side of the thick pane of glass, a group of friends continued to chatter away, oblivious to the world outside. One of the gathered leapt to her feet suddenly, turquoise green eyes blazing with hellfire. The recipient of her gaze recoiled, purple eyes widening even more, even as the more calm and collected girl sitting beside him uttered an unheard reply. Whatever her observation was, it caused all of the others inside, including the teenage clerk, to roll their eyes together in unified disbelief at her clueless nature.

"Yes… you could say that," Sashimi mused aloud, and her pale eyes glittered like twin icicles.


	7. Distraction by Robattle

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The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Seven: Distraction by Robattle (In More Ways than One) * ~

The tiny bell mounted on the inside of the Hop Mart's entrance jingled merrily as Samantha shoved the door violently open and stormed outside. Her thick chestnut bangs swayed from side to side, briefly obscuring part of her face. Considering the fact that if looks could kill, Samantha would have become a mass murderer at that instant, it could be considered a small mercy that only part of her enraged expression was visible.

For once the rest of the Screws gang was not right at her heels. Samantha figured that meant the boys' survival instincts were fully functional. Still, she had little doubt that they'd be along shortly – after giving her a few minutes to cool down.

Considering she had needed to leave the store before she killed somebody, Samantha could not fault their precaution.

Actually, she appreciated the fact that they weren't right there, for the last thing she needed right then was anybody, even somebody she considered a friend slash lackey, hovering around her asking questions.

With an aggravated sigh, Samantha closed her burning aquamarine eyes and massaged her forehead with two fingertips in an attempt to alleviate the pounding headache she had acquired.

(I really need to pound something. Especially Koji's pretty boy face in.)

It was one of the rich boy's remarks, in fact, that had caused Samantha to seek refuge outside the Hop Mart – though she'd much have preferred the alternative option of punching his lights out.

(He may look nice, but jeez! He's worse than the creeps at school!)

Then again, the jerks that had teased her with suggestive comments at school were constrained by the ever-present threat of punishment from the teachers – especially Coach Mountain, always looking for more troublemakers to enroll in his hardcore workouts. Koji, on the other hand, was limited only by the ever-oblivious Karin's presence, causing all of his comments to be a bit more sly and subtle though clear enough to Samantha.

(I _really_ need to break something, or someone…)

Samantha briefly contemplated the wisdom of going back into the Hop Mart and force-feeding Koji a knuckle sandwich or two. However, she recognized that Henry would probably not take very kindly to a fistfight inside the store during his shift. Since having the young adult as a friend could be useful at times (not to mention the fact that he was kind of cute), it seemed unwise to risk his wrath.

Abruptly her turquoise eyes snapped open and focused upon the figure of a complete stranger standing several feet away from her. While the girl wasn't doing anything to bother Samantha, and hadn't even moved from her spot at the corner since the leader of the Screws had come storming outside, Samantha gave her an appraising glare anyway.

The girl appeared to be roughly the same age, perhaps a year or two older at most, as Samantha and the rest of the gang. She was clad rather plainly: the front of her gray jacket was unzipped, revealing the ivory blouse underneath with a glittering silver snowflake. Faded blue jeans and white and blue sneakers helped further cause the girl to fade into the background. The only thing really remarkable about her was the locks of white-blonde hair that framed her face, cut in a simple style that just brushed her shoulders.

None of this, however, caught Samantha's attention. That was reserved primarily for the blue and white device strapped to the stranger's wrist.

(Perfect.)

"Hey, you!" called Samantha, straightening up and pointing at the stranger.

A pair of half-lidded blue eyes slowly raised to regard the auburn-haired girl. The challenged blinked once, then pointed at herself, planting one slim finger right on the center of the silvery snowflake design.

"…Me?" was the soft, simple reply.

"Yeah, you! Are you a medafighter?" and turquoise eyes fixed meaningfully on the watch on the stranger's wrist.

"…I am," the girl with white-blonde hair answered.

"Then I challenge you to a robattle!"

Pale blue eyes met blazing aquamarine eyes for a few heartbeats, quietly reading the challenge in those flaming orbs. Then the frost-haired girl's head bobbed once, twice in a short nod of acknowledgement. She pushed away from the brick wall and raised her meda-watch in front of her.

"Then so be it."

Samantha smirked.

"Transport Peppercat!" she shouted.

With a burst of blue electricity the body of her medabot partner was instantly summoned to stand in front of her. Quickly inserting the Queen medal into its proper position, Samantha stepped back and watched her opponent expectantly, the familiar rush of adrenaline that accompanied any robattle already surging through her veins.

"Transport Frosiren," her opponent called, her voice oddly lacking the same excitement Samantha felt at the prospect of a good fight.

Peppercat and Samantha both narrowed their eyes slightly as they studied the medabot that was summoned. It was quite obviously female, its body clad in a white bodice with silver and blue trim. Long, shapely white legs were completely bare save for two clear blue bracelets at the ankles, matching the bracelets on her slender arms. Puffy blue sleeves with silver trim cut off at the very top to bare the strange medabot's shoulders.

The girl stepped up behind her medabot to insert her medal. The moment it was in place, the medabot's eyes flared with light – a pale ice blue.

Strangest of all was the white skirt extending straight out from the waist and curving slightly downward. At first, Samantha didn't understand the reasoning behind this odd design, but when the pale medabot leaned forward and bowed to Peppercat, it suddenly became clear.

The 'spikes' of the dress, when viewed from above, fanned out in a lacy design that resembled a multi-pronged snowflake. Looking closer, Samantha realized that the medabot's entire ensemble was based on that same wintry motive.

"A Snow Maiden type, then," she mused aloud, grimacing.

The Snow Maiden type, or SMD, was one of several designs created primarily to appeal to girls more interested in 'pretty' medabots. While they, like all medabots, could fight, and in the right hands with the right medal could possibly even be powerful fighters, they were created more as glorified, expensive dolls. Samantha felt vaguely disappointed: here she was hoping for a real intense robattle to take her mind off her troubles for a bit, and what did she get?

(Ugh, Robo-Barbie. …Well, might as well make the best of it.)

"How pretty," she hissed, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let's see how nice your cutesy little fairy looks when Peppercat's finished dragging her through the mud!"

"We'll see how it goes," returned her opponent coolly, regarding the Screw leader with icy blue eyes.

"Then it's agreed!"

Samantha winced, resisting the urge to turn and see whatever odd thing the strange little man that served as judge for all the official robattles in the area was doing this time for his entrance. However, that soon became clear when a trash can rolled past her – and kept right on rolling until it struck a lamppost a few feet down the road with a terrific ringing clang. After it finished spinning in place, a very dizzy Mr. Referee shakily climbed out and staggered back to stand between the facing-off medabots.

"I officially declare this a submission robattle!" he began the familiar speech.

~ * ~

Inside the Hop Mart, Henry looked up toward the storefront window and blinked twice in surprise.

"Hmm, and here I thought Samantha went outside just to cool off for a bit," he commented, smiling slightly. "Looks like she found something more interesting than listening to you guys discuss her and Ikki's love life…"

"Huh?" was the collective response of the rest of the kids as all eyes turned toward the front.

For several seconds, the group watched as Mr. Referee continued his spiel, while Samantha and Peppercat faced off with an unfamiliar girl and her medabot. Not surprisingly, Spyke was the first to break the moment.

"Boss!" he shouted, springing from his seat and bolting toward the door.

"Hold it, Spyke!"

Spyke paused, one hand already resting on the door to shove it open, and looked back at Henry with wide, confused eyes.

"Let's just watch from in here for now," the store clerk suggested, waving the boy to a seat closer to the window. "If we all charge out there at once, it'll distract Samantha from her robattle, right?"

(Besides, I think it's probably not best not to remind her about us just yet,) Henry added silently to himself. (If this helps take her mind off her troubles for a bit…)

He joined the rest of the gang as they collectively moved closer to the window for a better view of the action. Koji once again tried to sit next to Karin and drape his arm around her, only to slip off his seat as she leaned forward for a closer look at the unfamiliar medabot. Spyke hesitated, then suddenly pressed the surface of his meda-watch, summoning Krosserdog.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Rintaro inquired.

"I thought Krosserdog might want to watch too," explained Spyke, and indicated Brass with a casual wave of his hand as he added, "After all, she's watching…"

"Good point," and Karin followed suit by calling Neutranurse.

That, of course, made Koji and Rintaro immediately follow their example, summoning Sumilidon and Kantaroth. Sloan shrugged and decided to call Totalizer as well, figuring that if everyone else was doing it, he might as well too. The group of kids and medabots then huddled around the window, watching intently.

Only Erika stood apart from the group, camera in front of her glassy chocolate eyes, ready to capture every last second of the fight about to erupt outside…

~ * ~

"Medafighters ready, robattle!"

The instant that Mr. Referee finished his speech and brought his hand down in the familiar signal, Peppercat lunged forward with one paw raised high, electricity crackling from the tips of her claws. Frosiren shifted her weight from one delicate leg to the other, preparing to counter the charge.

However, before she could react, the scarlet medabot halted her charge just a few inches away and vaulted backwards out of reach. The SMD-type's ice blue eyes flickered with confusion, and she paused, regarding her feline opponent warily.

Samantha smirked, pleased to see that the tactic had at least some effect. While she had been hoping that the abrupt switch would fool the snowflake-styled medabot into launching her special attack so that she could see what it was, it hadn't quite worked. Still, if she played it unpredictable enough, maybe that would give her more of an edge…

"Frosiren, Diamond Dance," her opponent murmured into her meda-watch, so softly that Samantha could not overhear the quiet command.

The SMD-type's eyes glistened frostily, and she crossed her slender arms, the large silver bracelets adorning her wrists striking each other with a crystal-clear chime. Peppercat hesitated, giving her adversary a wary once-over.

Abruptly the blue jewels decorating the silver bracelets glowed brightly. Frosiren swept her arms out, and a hail of tiny blue diamonds shot towards the startled Peppercat. The feline medabot nimbly leaped up, flipping backwards to avoid the sharp sleet.

Sparing a quick glance up to check her opponent's position, Peppercat noticed several things at once.

Firstly, she saw that the jewels on Frosiren's bracelets had vanished.

Secondly, the tiny jewels were more like sharp little icicles, and were embedded in the concrete where seconds before she had been standing.

Thirdly, similar bracelets also adorned Frosiren's ankles, and a silver headband lined with ice jewels topped her pale blue hair.

The snow maiden gazed calmly at her opponent, frigid blue eyes gleaming like a sheet of ice in the morning sun. Suddenly, Frosiren was also in the air, and streaking directly towards Peppercat. While in midair, she began to spin rapidly, scattering the deadly jewel hail in all directions.

"Peppercat!" shouted Samantha.

The feline medabot dimly heard her medafighter's shout: at that instant, she was more focused on dodging as many of the tiny projectiles as she could. Peppercat twisted about sharply, arcing and arching her body from side to side. It was a true feat of agility that she was able to avoid being completely blanketed by the piercing rain.

Still, even the agile feline could not avoid the wide ranged assault entirely. The CAT-type landed hard on all fours, her armor visibly dented from where the icicle rain had struck her limbs.

__

'Left arm: 20% damage. Right arm: 15% damage. Legs: 30% damage.'

Samantha grimaced as her meda-watch reported the results she could see clearly enough just by looking at her partner. Peppercat let out a soft yowl, standing back up, electricity already starting to spark around her claws.

Frosiren landed on her feet a short distance away, assuming a graceful dancer's pose, one leg in front of the other, arms stretched outwards, head lowered. She seemed to be bowing mockingly to her opponent, a fact that was not lost on either Peppercat or her medafighter. The CAT-type hissed angrily in reply.

Samantha glared, not just at the SMD-type but at the young woman standing behind the medabot. The frost-haired girl seemed unaffected by her dark expression, her own features oddly neutral. Samantha couldn't read any sort of triumph or smugness on her opponent's face – indeed, there appeared to be no emotion at all.

Yet that somehow disturbing fact was pushed out of mind by a far more pressing issue. Although there was no cocky smirk to wipe off of her adversary's face, that didn't lessen her desire to win.

Turquoise eyes narrowed, studying the Snow Maiden medabot intently. Like Peppercat, Samantha had noticed the origin of the shining hail. The jewels on the silver bracelets glowed again, readying another wave.

"Get ready," she snarled into her meda-watch, and Peppercat nodded slightly to acknowledge the warning.

"Diamond Dance," the blonde girl commanded once more.

Another wave of gemstone missiles streaked forward, this time in a fan pattern directly in front of Frosiren. Peppercat leapt upward to avoid the attack, and Samantha gasped.

The leader of the Screws hadn't stopped her scrutiny of Frosiren for a moment, not even snapping her head up to follow her medabot as she flipped through the air. In that instant, the analysis paid off.

Frosiren brought her arms back to launch another assault, and Samantha got a clear look at her bracelets – specifically, the spaces where the jewels normally rested.

They were completely empty.

Although this soon changed, the tiny holes shimmering as the missiles regenerated, Samantha smirked confidently. Now she had something to work with…

"Peppercat, she's vulnerable immediately after launching those ice bullets," she informed her partner through the direct communication link in her meda-watch. "If you can get her to shoot all of them at once…"

"Myaaaow," Peppercat replied, letting her medafighter know she'd heard without responding in a way that might give away their plan.

(Another advantage of having a CAT-type,) gloated Samantha privately as she watched her partner dart forward.

The white-blonde haired girl arched an eyebrow at the feline medabot's charge.

(It would appear she's as impulsive as the reports have indicated…)

"Frosiren, finish her off," she commanded.

The SMD-type nodded once, then sprang to meet Peppercat's charge. Once again she span about in midair, launching her tiny missiles in every direction.

Several of the icy bullets pelted the CAT-type's armor – yet, instead of attempting to dodge, she kept moving forward. Two pairs of ice blue eyes widened slightly with astonishment. 

"Finish it, Peppercat! Electric Shock!"

"Mrrrrrreeeowwww!"

Five claws latched onto Frosiren's right arm, the other five clamping onto the SMD-type's head. Frosiren's frigid blue eyes lit up with shock – then flashed with agony as crackling currents of blue lightning engulfed her slight frame. Delicate snow white limbs convulsed, straining desperately. Silver bracelets gleamed, reflecting the light given off by the electricity, blue jewels glowing as they materialized for another attack…

Then the light dimmed out, and the clear sound of a medal striking the pavement rang out.

"Function ceased!" Mr. Referee announced, raising one of his arms sharply to one side. "The winner is… Peppercat!"

"All right!" the leader of the Screws exulted, pumping one fist into the air. "Another perfect victory for Peppercat!"

The feline medabot purred, tail lashing from side to side, and she stood over her fallen enemy for a little while longer. Catching sight of movement out of the corner of her eye, Peppercat glanced over and felt another rush of pride.

Through the Hop Mart's window, she could clearly see everyone inside. Nearly all of the gathered were cheering for them, the sole exceptions being Koji and Sumilidon. This detail hardly bothered Peppercat: she knew Koji could be a stubborn brat sometimes, and it was hardly the Saber-Tooth Tiger medabot's fault he'd been stuck with such a prissy kid for a medafighter.

Everyone else appeared ecstatic, however. Spyke and Krosserdog were obviously cheering loudly for their boss, as were the somewhat more subdued Sloan and Totalizer, though she couldn't hear them through the glass. Considering the way Rintaro and Kantaroth appeared to be carrying on, she felt that was probably a good thing.

Karin and Neutranurse were clapping, faces lit up with delight. Henry just smiled to himself, pleased. Even Brass looked happy to have seen her friend win a robattle. Erika, however… Well, she couldn't see the journalist's expression, as it was hidden behind her camera.

As nice as their excitement over her victory was, however, it was mere icing on the cake for Peppercat. The real treasure was the pleasure she glimpsed in her medafighter's aquamarine eyes as she turned toward Samantha.

Of course Peppercat knew about the entire scandal already. She'd overheard practically everything that was said to Samantha, as well as the leader of the Screws' angry comments on her situation. After all, there wasn't much she could do in the meda-watch other than listen.

But at least Samantha's mind had been taken off her personal problems for a bit thanks to the thrill of a well-won victory. The CAT-type glanced back to her fallen opponent with satisfaction.

The frost-haired girl, meanwhile, still hadn't shown much emotion. Even her loss failed to elicit a big response. Instead, she merely walked over, knelt behind her fallen medabot, and picked up its medal, placing it back in her meda-watch. She then called back Frosiren's beaten body, teleporting it away.

"Which meda-part do you desire?" she asked Samantha – the first sound she'd made since Frosiren fell to the sidewalk.

"Eh?" Samantha double-blinked, more than a little surprised by how calmly her opponent was taking her defeat.

(Then again, with a medabot like hers, maybe she's used to losing…)

Quickly regaining her composure, Samantha smirked.

"Oh, I don't know," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, hinting that she really didn't feel the need to obtain a part from a weak adversary. "I guess a pair of legs would work…"

The girl with pale blue eyes just nodded, and pressed a few buttons on her meda-watch. A thin beam of light connected her meda-watch with Samantha's for a heartbeat as the requested meda-part was transferred, then tapered away. Samantha's smug smirk widened as she noted she had indeed received a pair of legs exactly like the ones currently on Frosiren's body.

"Well, then, I suppose our business together is completed," the white-blonde haired girl stated, and bowed once toward Samantha before turning and starting to walk off.

"H-hey, wait just a sec!" cried Samantha, completely taken aback by the other's odd behavior.

The girl paused and glanced back at her, face still completely composed save for one thin eyebrow raising slightly.

"I don't even know your name," Samantha pointed out. Regaining her usual smug smirk, she added, "It's hard enough keeping track of all the people I've beaten without having some run off without even bothering to tell me who they are."

The pale girl did not reply immediately, but remained where she was, looking back at Samantha for some time. The Screw leader felt a mild prickling sensation at the base of her neck, but managed to hide her sudden discomfort. She couldn't figure out what was causing it, though – after all, hadn't she just beaten this girl? She was no threat, nameless or not…

"It's… Sairen," she finally replied, icy eyes glittering softly as they reflected the sunlight. "Sairen Shimoha."

"Sairen," repeated Samantha. Grinning nastily, she jerked a thumb at the Hop Mart's window, pointing out Erika standing with her camera in front of her. "I'll be sure to let her know that for her big report on my latest victory, then."

Sairen failed to reply to that, simply turning away and walking down the street, away from the confused Screw leader.

"…Weird girl," Samantha observed, shaking her head. Looking over at her medabot, she smiled and praised, "Nice work, Peppercat. That was another perfect victory."

"Boss, I have a request," Peppercat said abruptly, turning her light blue gaze to her medafighter.

"Huh? What is it?" asked a confused Samantha.

"…I'd like to spend some time alone, if I may," the CAT-type requested carefully, watching her master's expression closely. "I've got a few things I'd like to take care of by myself…"

Samantha considered, and decided to allow her partner to do her own thing. What could it hurt? She trusted Peppercat enough to know the feline medabot wouldn't do anything foolish while she was on her own.

"Sure, go ahead. Just be sure to meet me back home before it gets too dark," she consented, nodding.

"Thanks, Boss," and the nimble CAT-type turned and dashed away.

Samantha gazed after her, then back at the Hop Mart's doors. Suppressing a sigh, she started back inside. While the prospect of facing Koji again wasn't entirely pleasant, she wasn't about to let his crude comments ruin her enjoyment of basking in the glow of everyone else's praises for her victory.

~ * ~

Meanwhile, the girl called Sairen Shimoha had ducked into an alleyway a few blocks down the street from the Hop Mart. Frosiren kneeled in front of her: the SMD-type's damaged parts had been traded out for spares she always kept on hand. Despite being fully functional once more, however, Frosiren's slumped posture and bowed head hinted that she wasn't feeling her best.

"Forgive me, mistress," she pleaded softly, unable to keep a faint tremor out of her sweet voice. "My loss was…"

"Perfectly alright," interjected the frost-haired girl, causing the SMD-type to look up at her in astonishment.

"…Excuse me?"

"It's fine, Frosiren," Sairen repeated, smiling faintly to reassure her medabot. "In fact, it's working out better than I planned... It's best if she and her friends don't see me as a threat. That will make it all the more fun…"


	8. Blowing Off Some Steam

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Eight: Blowing Off Some Steam (And Side-Effects Thereof) * ~

An exhausted sigh issued from both Ikki and Metabee as they finally reached the threshold of their home. Although the sun was still riding high in the sky, the day already felt like it had worn on for far too long. Ikki's deepest desire at that moment was to trudge upstairs, collapse into bed, and not move until it was time to go to school tomorrow.

Then, recalling just how much of his current exhaustion was due to what had occurred at school, he amended that wish. He longed to just stay in bed until this whole mess sorted itself out or turned out to be some sort of horrendous nightmare…

His prayers that the latter would be the case were squashed the instant he stepped inside.

So was his ribcage, as Chidori scooped her son up into a tight embrace, crushing his squirming body against hers.

"Oh, my little boy's growing up so fast!" she crooned, sweet voice an odd mixture of pleasure and grief only achievable by a mother.

"Wh-what?" gasped Ikki as he squirmed uncomfortably in the death grip. "What are you talking about?"

Even as he asked, a sinking sensation in the boy's gut forewarned that he likely knew exactly what his mother meant. Just because he thought he understood didn't necessarily mean he wanted to understand, however.

Chidori set her son back down on his feet, loosening her crushing hug to a simple grip on his shoulders. She beamed with maternal pride, smiling down at Ikki with twinkling eyes.

"Oh, you don't have to play ignorant with me, Ikki!" she gushed. "I already know all about your little girlfriend!"

"I don't have a…"

A single finger against his lips killed the boy's protest immediately. Ikki's shoulders slumped with defeat: this would be another hopeless battle no matter how hard he fought. His mother continued to smile brightly – any other expression would have seemed odd on her typically cheerful face, of course, but considering what she believed was going on, it seemed quite unusual. Not many parents would react well to finding out their only child was dating somebody without their knowledge.

Then again, Chidori wasn't exactly your average mother. She didn't quite fit into the stereotypical mold, despite the fact that she obviously doted on her little boy.

"My little boy is growing up," she repeated, folding her hands against her heart and sighing contently. "Why, it seems just yesterday I was changing your diapers and wiping drool off your little mouth."

"Are you sure that wasn't yesterday?" quipped Metabee.

"You stay out of it!" roared a red-faced Ikki, turning on his medabot.

Chidori completely ignored the exchange, and continued to gush about the rapid progress of her darling son from a cooing infant to a charming young man. Ikki only half-listened to her, focusing instead on willing the incredible heat rising in his cheeks to cool down. He was uncomfortably aware of the fact that his face was turning a deep scarlet shade.

"…And to think that one day soon you'll be walking down the aisle with your one true love! Oh, I bet she'll look absolutely ravishing in white!"

That last part caught Ikki's attention. His already cherry-red cheeks practically glowed crimson as he whirled around and windmilled his arms in frantic denial of his mother's daydreams.

"Mom! Now you're the one rushing things! I'm not about to marry Samantha!!"

"But you make such a cute couple!" Chidori gushed, and she whirled around and thrust a picture into Ikki's face. "See?"

Ikki saw all right. The raven-haired boy could hardly believe what was right in front of his nose. All he could do was stare in utter shock.

"What?" Chidori blinked in confusion at her son's obvious discomfort. "Don't you like it? I thought you'd love a memento of your first date…"

Ikki stared at her and babbled incoherently for a few seconds, struggling to find the right words to refute her statement. How could he explain to her the utter wrongness of what she had done.

"…Mom!" he finally wailed the familiar one-word protest of any put-upon and upset child.

Confused, Chidori examined her treasure, trying to figure out just what her precious son was so flustered about. Personally, she had thought it rather wonderful to have a chance to preserve such an important instant in her child's life, and was doubly thankful for the article that had informed her of this momentous event in the first place.

"Do you not like the frame?" she wondered aloud.

Ikki just stared at her, and the picture she had so lovingly cut out of one of her copies of the scandalous newspaper (she had gotten several to help chronicle this event) and placed in a nice wooden frame.

"Oh, I know!" she suddenly declared, smile returning rapidly. "You're worried that it's a bad print! Well, I'm sure that Erika will let me have a few copies of the original if I ask…"

"AUUUGGGHHH!" screamed Ikki, fleeing to the relative sanctity of his room.

Metabee and Chidori stared after him, both surprised by his reaction for very different reasons.

"Oh, it's cute that he's so shy about it," declared his proud mother after a pause, her proud smile never faltering.

"Right…" Metabee drawled, shaking his head.

Suddenly the KBT-type froze, his green eyes flashing with realization and annoyance.

"Gk-gk-gk-gk-gk! That's right! Ikki and I've gotta have a little talk…"

Unfortunately for Metabee's plans – and fortunately for Ikki's health – the door was locked by the time the KBT-type sprinted to his medafighter's bedroom. All Ikki had cared about at that point was getting some sleep, and in his frustrated, exhausted state he'd failed to notice that his loudmouthed medabot wasn't at his side.

Then again, he most likely was quite thankful for that little detail as he immediately passed out, safe in the comfort of his own wonderful bed.

Outside, Metabee pounded on the door in vain, sputtering with rage. The Beetle medabot leveled his guns at the doorknob and almost opened fire, only to stop just in time to avoid ruining the wooden entrance completely.

It wasn't for the sake of the boy snoozing blissfully away inside, however. It was more for the beaming mother back downstairs. Metabee respected Mrs. Tenryou enough to realize that shooting the door would only force her to waste time getting it fixed.

(My problem's with Ikki, not the door.)

That didn't keep Metabee from sulking petulantly as he stomped downstairs. After all, he'd been forced to delay Ikki's punishment before, restraining himself from opening fire right in the Hop Mart or chasing his worn-out medafighter all the way home.

Now that Ikki had taken refuge in his bedroom and wasn't about to let his own partner (true, his mad-as-a-hornet, capable-of-mass-destruction partner, but his partner nonetheless) inside, what was he going to do to blow off some steam?

The KBT-type mentally reviewed his options. He could always watch episodes of his favorite soaps, 'All My Meda-parts', 'One Robattle to Win', and, of course, 'Young and the Rustless'. Recently, he'd learned how to set up so that all of his shows were recorded, helping free up his time considerably – and also allowing him to bug Ikki about not letting him watch his soaps when they weren't even on just for the hell of it.

However, Metabee then recalled that he'd already caught up on all the commercials and the soap operas that came on in-between. Even though he had a burning desire to find out what happened after Chiten confessed his love to the wrong girl – again – and Kugo was framed for the murder of Giusa's precious daughter – little did anyone know that Bichisau had actually run away only to fall under the spell of Maran, who was actually a girl named Narko who was fleeing from her abusive father Menga…

Well, Metabee would just have to wait until the next episode aired to find out what happened next in the grand drama 'Seimei-Konran City'.

(Great, now I'm even more ticked off.)

A steady litany of "Gk-gk-gk-gk-GK!" accentuated each loud stomp as Metabee stormed outside. Small clouds issued from his antennae, indicating clearly that the KBT-type needed to blow off some steam both figuratively and literally.

Once he had left the house, the first thing Metabee's glowing gaze fell upon was an empty soda can lying on the fresh grass. While the can's only crime to speak off was being a piece of litter and detracting from the pretty lawn, Metabee glared at the aluminum drink holder as if it were an unspeakably horrendous sight. His optics flared, twin fiery emeralds reflecting nothing but pure rage.

It ceased to be an innocuous if improperly disposed of soda can.

It was a symbol of all that was wrong with this insane world he had been plunged into.

It was a betrayal of what should be, an exposure of a lie and cover-up. 

It had a little raven ponytail.

"SEEKER MISSILES!"

It was dust.

"Not a fan of that particular brand, I see," a female voice remarked dryly from somewhere nearby.

Tiny tendrils of smoke still rising from his antennae/launchers, Metabee whipped around several times before finally thinking to look above. When he did, he was greeted with the sight of a scarlet feline medabot swinging her legs lazily off the edge of the roof nearest to him, periwinkle eyes twinkling down mischievously at him.

"You!" he shouted, only the fact that he had just blown a can to kingdom come with his special attack preventing him from launching a volley at his unexpected and unwelcome visitor.

"Good to see you too," replied Peppercat, cocking her head lightly to one side. Metabee got the distinct impression that had medabots been blessed with a visible mouth, hers would be currently set in a smug 'CAT-type-that-ate-the-CANARY-type' grin.

"What are you doing here?!" demanded the KBT-type. "You looking for a robattle?"

"Just had one, thanks," Peppercat returned coolly, getting to her feet while Metabee fought to hide his surprise at that truthful response. Pacing the edge of the roof, she continued lightly, "Not only did I win a nice pair of legs for myself, I earned a bit of free time as well. So I thought I'd come and check on…"

"Your Boss's boyfriend?" sneered Metabee, glaring warily at the strutting medabot. "Sorry, 'fraid you just missed him. Ikki's up in his room snoring away by now, probably dreaming of his girl…"

"I didn't come to see him."

Metabee double-blinked, once more taken off guard by the CAT-type's blunt statement.

"Come again?"

"I came to see my boyfriend."

"WHAT?!"

"Well, my rumored boyfriend, anyway," Peppercat leaned forward, crystal blue eyes gleaming suggestively at the startled beetle. "I mean, think about it. It's the logical conclusion, isn't it? If our medafighters have been seeing each other in secret…"

"That doesn't mean anything!" roared Metabee. "I didn't even know about Ikki's little meeting with YOUR boss until this afternoon!"

"Please! Do you think anybody's going to buy that?"

Peppercat kept her voice deliberately light and teasing, but allowed a firm edge to enter her tone here. One thing she'd definitely learned from her medafighter was if you put enough effort into it, you could turn nearly any situation to your advantage. While she couldn't think of anything to help Samantha out of her predicament just yet, that didn't mean the CAT-type hadn't figured out a way to possibly profit from this mess herself.

"Ikki's been trying to deny that he's involved with Boss, but does anybody believe him?" she pointed out. "But everybody's already convinced of it. It'll take a lot of hard work to ever get anyone to believe otherwise – if they ever do at all."

"So?"  


"So how long do you think it's going to be before others start wondering if he's not the only one with a secret lover? You know what they say, 'Like Medafighter, like medabot'…"

"Gk-gk-gk-gk-gk! What Ikki does DOESN'T have ANY EFFECT on what I do!" screeched the enraged Metabee, steam now pouring out of his antennae. "If some STUPID mistake he made effects MY life…"

"Don't you mean, love-life?" Peppercat interjecting, struggling to keep the rage she felt at hearing her medafighter referred to in such a crude manner in check.

Metabee sputtered wildly in reply. Peppercat noted with a bit of mild alarm that a faint green aura was beginning to coat his trembling body, though part of her wanted to dismiss it as a trick of the sunlight. The CAT-type had no particular desire to see if the KBT-type might actually get so worked up about her suggestion that it triggered the meda-force, so she hastened to the next part of her plan.

"You know, there is one way to disprove it before the rumor starts up," she said quickly.

The ever-so-faint green glow vanished completely, so suddenly that Peppercat wasn't entirely certain it had ever been there. The only trace of green left was the twin orbs that instantly locked on her face.

"Tell me," he insisted, hopefully and forcefully.

"Simple," Peppercat informed him. "All you have to do is help me get a boyfriend of my own."

"WHAT?!"

"If I'm seen going out happily with someone else, that'll effectively kill any rumors that you and I are secret lovers," she explained. "It'll prove once and for all that just because our medafighters might fancy each other, it doesn't have any bearing on who you or I happen to like."

Metabee stared up at her for what seemed a terribly long time, uncharacteristically silent. Peppercat watched carefully, knowing full well that her little scheme hinged entirely on whether or not he bought her little argument. If she hadn't convinced him by now, it was likely the stubborn beetle never would accept her claims. Even worse, the rumor mill could really fixate on them sooner or later, and she'd be no better off than her Boss currently was.

(But if it does pay off…)

The CAT-type was startled out of her thoughts when Metabee abruptly stirred, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay," he consented, his tone hinting at his frustration at the entire situation. He might have accepted that he probably needed to do this to save himself embarrassment later, but he certainly didn't have to like it.

That was perfectly okay with Peppercat. Her cerulean eyes lit up with pleasure, and she swung down to land gently beside Metabee. She turned to him, tail lashing slightly, fighting to contain her excitement at having her plan go so well.

(So far, so good.)

"So what am I supposed to do, anyway?" Metabee asked. "Just pick some guy medabot off the street and…"

"Not quite," Peppercat purred, once again giving Metabee the picture of that same smug smile. "I already have the perfect candidate in mind…"


	9. Pause for Reflection

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Nine: Pause for Reflection (And Possibly Revelations) * ~

Samantha was seriously starting to regret setting foot inside the Hop Mart after her victory.

Certainly, the praise and kudos she's received the moment she's reentered the shop was a nice little boost for her ego and all – there was no denying that the leader of the Screws loved being the center of attention. But sadly, there were different types of attention she was receiving, and not all of it was that great.

Part of it was due to the fact Samantha had allowed Peppercat to scamper off immediately after the fight. To be fair, she had thought it a fair trade-off at the time: the agile CAT-type had just helped her medafighter's mood tremendously with her well-timed win, after all. Besides, their recent trials battling the Rubberobos and foiling all of Dr. Meta-Evil's plots had helped strengthen the bond between them – Samantha now trusted her medabot enough that she could let the feline run off on her own, confident in the knowledge she could take care of herself.

What Samantha hadn't given much thought to was the fact that, in letting her partner run free for a bit, she was unconsciously mimicking another certain medafighter whose medabot always did what he wanted.

Koji had commented on that little coincidence the minute Samantha stepped back into the Hop Mart. Things had only soured from there.

Peppercat's absence meant Samantha was faced with a small quandary. Without her medabot, she couldn't very well challenge Koji to a robattle over his deliberately provocative remarks. The other obvious option, punching the pretty boy's lights out, while tempting, would mean her brief respite would have been pointless.

Ironically enough, it had been Karin who unknowingly pointed out another option, one she had gladly taken. The other children had decided to summon their own medabots so that they could watch the robattle as well. Afterwards, the popular redhead decided that, as long as her partner was out and about, they could browse over the latest meda-part catalogues together and see if they could find anything Neutranurse liked.

Samantha had decided to take one as well and hurriedly retired to a private corner to skim through it. While Peppercat quite obviously couldn't give her opinions on the matter, Samantha had justified her action by claiming she just wanted to see what was on the market. 'Check out the competition', that was the way she had phrased it.

Somehow, the Screws leader got the feeling Henry didn't exactly buy into her cover story. But he'd given her a catalogue all the same, then passed some out to the rest of the gang. Samantha figured he was just hoping somebody might decide they liked something they saw enough to order one – making a few sales had to be a big factor.

She was right: Henry did hope at least one of the kids ended up buying something. However, the main factor at work was even simpler. It shut them up.

Indeed, the Hop Mart was a significantly more pleasant place for the teenager to work when his patrons weren't arguing over the latest problems they faced or fighting – robattling or otherwise. Henry smiled faintly as he busied himself by straightening a few shelves, making certain the displays looked their best, keeping a discreet eye on the rest of the group.

Sloan and Spyke, he noticed with no small amount of wry amusement, were not flanking their boss for once. Instead, they sat a respectful distance away, huddled over the same catalogue. Although they pointed at the pages spread out before them while whispering to each other, a closer look revealed that the topic of their conversation was hardly the latest meda-part releases. Their furtive glances were more firmly riveted on their leader instead.

Henry was actually mildly impressed. For once it appeared that both boys recognized a potentially dangerous situation and were avoiding it as best they could, instead of placing themselves directly in the line of fire. They were trying their hardest not to set off their boss's volatile temper with any well-intentioned but foolish actions.

(I guess they've set her off enough times in the past that they either know better now… or just don't want to find out what else she could do. And considering the mood she seems to have been in all day, you can hardly blame them…)

The clerk's gaze drifted from the separated Screws, past the other large group currently inside the Hop Mart, to the other occupant who wasn't with anyone. Just as Samantha had retired to a corner to review her magazine and innermost thoughts, another girl had pulled a chair to one side to get away from her peers.

Henry's amused smile faded away into bemusement as he watched Erika bend over her camera. Surreptitiously, he slipped over to check on what exactly she was doing: experience had taught him that it was always wise to get an idea of what was going on around him.

Besides, Henry had a gut feeling that Erika could use some simple companionship right then. A quick glance around the store yielded no sign of Brass, curiously enough, so it seemed the handsome young clerk would have to suffice for the time being.

Peering carefully over Erika's shoulder, Henry saw that the young journalist was studiously scrolling through the footage she had taped of the robattle. As he watched quietly, the tiny playback screen displayed Frosiren leaping into midair and spinning around rapidly, blanketing the street with ice jewel missiles. Peppercat twisted desperately about to avoid most of the deadly hail, ground to a stop on all fours, then glared at the SMD-type while Samantha checked her meda-watch for damage.

Erika paused the replay, and Henry arched an eyebrow. The screen was now frozen on a shot of Samantha looking at her expressionless opponent, her own face twisted with rage. He observed silently, intrigued, studying the reporter closely while trying to figure out what she was thinking.

The reporter pressed a few buttons, and the shot enlarged, sharpened, and refocusing on its new subject. It was now practically possible to see the frustration written in Samantha's face, how her turquoise eyes all but glowed with aggravation.

Erika's cinnamon eyes remained locked on the close-up of Samantha's face. The reporter's jaw tightened visibly, as her mouth, already pressed into a thin line, twisted. One of her eyebrows twitched once, twice.

Suddenly the footage was shooting backwards, events unfolding in reverse in rapid time – only to replay a few seconds later. Frosiren sprang up and spun, Peppercat dodged and ducked, taking visible damage in her arms and legs. Then the scene rewound and replayed again, this time slowing slightly as the CAT-type took a few very nasty hits.

Rewind.

Replay.

Rewind.

Replay.

Rewind.

As he watched Peppercat land hard on all four limbs for the fifth time since the actual fight had ended, Henry coughed uneasily. The clerk was feeling distinctly uneasy with Erika's apparent obsession with watching that particular scene repeat constantly. The fact that the journalist was hunching further and further over her camera as she continued the cycle, dull cinnamon eyes hardening with intensity, certainly didn't help ease his sudden concerns for her sanity.

"Say, Erika…"

The preoccupied reporter showed no signs of responding to his hesitant query, as Frosiren's barrage of Peppercat continued. Henry sweated a bit, and glanced about the shop while mentally casting about for some other topic to bring up. Anything to smother that manic gleam he thought he glimpsed developing in Erika's dark chocolate eyes…

(Think, Henry, think! Can't ask her about current events, that'll likely just remind her about her latest scoop… Maybe that new… no, wait, what about Brass?)

Another quick scan of the shop revealed no sign of the Sailor Multi, and Henry grimaced thoughtfully. The best topic he could think of involved the purchase Erika had made the previous afternoon, but if he recalled correctly, she had specifically said it was a surprise for her partner. If stumbling across her latest breaking news had distracted her from giving it to Brass, and the SLR-type happened to overhear them discussing her gift… 

(Oh, what the heck. It's worth the risk, especially if it snaps Erika out of 'highlights reel' mode…)

"So, how's the new meda-par…"

"It isn't right."

"Hm?" Henry instantly snapped his mouth shut when Erika interrupted him, regarding the reporter carefully.

The normally vivacious girl remained nearly motionless, her dark chocolate bangs shading the top half of her face. However, Henry could see her jaw tightening further, teeth grinding together for a few seconds before she abruptly spoke again, in a whisper oozing with malice.

"She shouldn't have won."

"That…" Henry was about to say 'That can't be helped,' only to cut himself short again as his instincts screamed at him, warning him it would be prudent to keep his mouth shut and thoughts to himself.

"She won't win," continued Erika, seemingly not hearing him. "I won't let her."

Henry blinked, then inhaled sharply, holding back his gasp as realization struck the worker.

(She doesn't mean the robattle at all! She means…)

It dawned on Henry that his intuition had once again served him well. Erika was obviously not thinking about the robattle that even now replayed before her dark cinnamon eyes. Had he completed his earlier comment, it very likely would not have gone over well with the girl.

He remained silent, fighting back his impulse to do something that might only land him in trouble despite his good intentions, as Erika's smoldering glare raised from the perpetual loop of film to where Samantha was sitting by herself. There was no mistaking the rage in the young journalist's eyes, and Henry wasn't about to make himself a target.

He suddenly had a much better idea of what exactly Spyke and Sloan had to feel about this entire situation.

Meanwhile, Samantha was completely ignorant of the little drama playing out between the reporter and the store clerk. The leader of the Screws had come across a section in the catalogue that actually sparked a bit of interest, if only because of her recent robattle. Scanning a few pages, she soon located what she was searching for.

"Snow Maiden medabots… Here's the model," she muttered, tapping one finger against the picture she had just located of her last opponent.

Turquoise eyes following her finger along the page, she studied the information offered on the type. Although most of it was along the lines of 'Buy this! It's cool and looks really pretty! Buy it now!!', there was some useful general stats offered. Then her gaze strayed to the price, and her eyes widened.

"Man, for a medabot that looks like it belongs in a doll show, these things aren't cheap," she noted.

(Then again, maybe it's not so shocking,) she reflected, remembering the jewel hail the SMD-type had launched. (That wasn't just from one arm or anything, those jewels shot out of everything – those bracelets on her wrists and ankles, and even that headband! Even perfectly matched sets of meda-parts don't normally interact like that…)

Samantha then smirked, and glanced down at her meda-watch. According to the catalogue, a pair of SMD-type legs of the make she's just won were pretty expensive by themselves. Built for some great speed, apparently.

(And I snagged a pair for free, too… Not half bad.)

Feeling smug, Samantha found her gaze traveling around the Hop Mart. By chance, it came to rest upon where Koji, Karin and Rintaro were sitting with their respective medabots, Sumilidon, Neutranurse and Kantaroth. Although each pair had a copy of the catalogue spread out between them, only Karin and the medabots were actually perusing the pages with interest. The boys, meanwhile, were more interested in Karin.

Samantha smiled slyly: Karin's sheer obliviousness to her own popularity with the male gender was often a source of wry amusement to the Screw leader. Oh, sure, it tended to extremely annoying how boys seemed to gravitate naturally toward the redhead while passing over obviously more desirable, charming girls such as Samantha herself…

Strangely enough, however, Samantha found it didn't bother her as much as it did certain other girls. After all, did she really want a bunch of stupid jerks that completely ignored the lack of brains or brawn in lieu of simple beauty lusting after her all the time? Spyke and Sloan respected Samantha for all of her wondrous traits, not simply her good looks and charm. Somehow, she got the feeling the same couldn't be said for all of Karin's mindless admirers.

Besides, it could be downright hilarious at times how the popular redhead treated her male friends as simply such, blissfully unaware of the fact that they wanted so much more from her. No matter what the boys did, though, it seemed Karin would never recognize any of them as a boyfriend. Boys, yes; friends, yes; but never in the same sense they longed for, or fought so hard for.

As Samantha watched from her corner, Rintaro scooted his chair a bit closer to Karin's. While this went unnoticed by the pigtailed girl, who continued to study another interesting feature on the latest meda-parts on the market, the same could not be said of the boy sitting on her other side. Not about to be outdone for a commoner, Koji not only pushed his own seat closer, but leaned in to quickly peck his intended on the cheek.

Only Karin chose that moment to push back from the table, taking her open catalogue with her.

"Oh, Henry!" she called, waving at the clerk with her free hand.

Behind her, his target suddenly absent, Koji discovered he had leaned too far to the side and could not halt his sideways movement. Instead, he landed in the next closest area.

That just happened to be face-first in a very startled Rintaro's lap.

"DUDE!!" the wild-haired boy protested loudly and vainly, waving his arms about and struggling to pull away from the taller and heavier Koji.

Karin failed to witness this scene, as she held up her open catalogue to Henry and pointed out the meda-part that had caught her fancy. That didn't mean it escaped his notice, however, as the sweating employee struggled to keep a straight face.

Samantha bit back a bark of laughter as Rintaro finally squirmed away from Koji and both boys immediately relocated to chairs a considerable distance apart from both Karin's former seat and each other. Two pairs of violet eyes regarded their opponents warily and with no small amount of embarrassment.

(Oh, now that was classic!) Samantha's thoughts howled. (The only way that could have been better would be if Ikki'd gotten caught in that pile-up too!)

The leader of the Screws sputtered, picturing what sort of look Ikki might have gotten on his face had he been caught in the middle of that mess. Considering there was little love lost between the long-time rivals for the ever-oblivious Karin's affection, the thought of the hapless Tenryou having Karakuchi's head land in his lap…

Abruptly her amusement vanished as her thoughts strayed to the absent Ikki. Stubbornly, Samantha attempted to focus on something, anything else. It wasn't fair that the nasty predicament he'd managed to wrap her up in was able to spoil her fun even when he wasn't present. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

(With the problem he's gotten us both into,) she thought bitterly, (He's not going to have a whole lot of time to fight with Koji about Karin anyw…)

The proverbial 'click' snapped in Samantha's mind.

(Oh. Karin. _Karin._)

She stared at Karin, who was discussing different meda-parts with Henry nearby and trying to decide which ones to buy… or whether she should just get them all.

(K'so, that's it, isn't it?)

Aquamarine eyes narrowed thoughtfully, calculatingly, as Samantha recalled exactly how Karin had reacted to the news that she and Ikki were supposedly a couple. The popular redhead was remarkably accepting of the news, more so than most of her friends. From her own account, Karin had even suggested Ikki wake her up with a kiss…! In front of everyone, yet…!

(She thinks we're together. She accepts us together, apparently. Hell, she even seems to LIKE seeing us together!! And if she thinks, accepts and even likes us together, then…)

It was like all the pieces had fallen together in front of the leader of the Screws, allowing her to finally see what might be going on. Suddenly, what had previously seemed a strange and confusing move on another girl's part made perfect sense – at least in Samantha's view.

(If Karin believes Ikki and I are going out, he stands even less of a chance with her. And Erika's never been too thrilled with the way Ikki keeps trying to get Karin…)

Samantha turned her turquoise death glare upon Erika instantly, privately fuming. It was the only explanation she'd hit upon so far that made sense. Even though she had no way of knowing yet whether or not it was the truth, the Screws leader decided she'd figured it out.

(If that's the case, then she's trying to use me. And nobody uses the Screws like that.)

Her aquamarine eyes blazed with outrage as she glared at the reporter, even as a pair of dark cinnamon orbs studied a painful replay with shocking intensity. Two very different girls made the same silent promise at that instant.

(She won't get away with this. I won't let her…)


	10. Misguided Intentions

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The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Ten: Misguided Intentions (Let's Be Miserable Together) * ~

Brass peeked carefully round the edge of the doorframe at her medafighter. Her rose eyes dimmed as they took in the current standstill situation in the Hop Mart: Samantha glaring at Erika while the reporter studied some of her footage. The rest of the shop's occupants continued to go about their business, checking out the catalogues spread out before them and the latest styles, all the while pretending to ignore the palpable tension in the air.

Then again, Karin seemed to be blissfully ignorant of the bad blood between the other two girls. She was merrily discussing with Henry, which new meda-parts she should buy first for Neutranurse. Said pink medabot was at her partner's side, trying to reassure her that she didn't need anything at all: just being partners with Karin was enough.

The light in the Sailor Multi's eyes faded further, nearly flickering out completely. She bowed her head and turned away, though part of her longed to dash back to her own medafighter's side.

(Miss Erika…)

Her pink eyes widened as Henry suddenly started to turn around. The SLR-type ducked out of sight before the clerk could spot her and call out, asking what she was doing back there.

She understood that she really wasn't supposed to be in the employees' section of the store near the back. By all rights, she should have been in the main part of the Hop Mart, in the front with all of her friends… at Erika's side. That was the way things were supposed to be, anyway.

(I just need a little time. Then things can go back to the way they're supposed to be…)

She leaned against the inside doorframe: nobody looking from the front of the shop would be able to spy her hiding there in one of the storage rooms. Which was good, because the Sailor Multi really needed a few more minutes of privacy to ponder her problems.

Hopefully, she'd soon solve at least one of her most pressing dilemmas, giving her more time to focus on other important issues.

Sighing, Brass slumped to the floor: strange how her legs felt like they would no longer support her. She knew they were fully functional, and yet… She ended up pulling them up in front of her, nearly resting her bowed head upon her knees.

So many problems had been born yesterday. The SLR-type recalled how just the previous afternoon, a seemingly innocent situation had helped give birth to this current nightmare…

~ * ~

"Brass? Can I talk to you about something?"

Brass turned her rose gaze away from the robattle raging before her to the speaker. She was a little surprised to see the familiar medabot standing there, then spotted his medafighter a short distance away, also watching the fight.

"Sure," she replied. "What is it, Krosserdog?"

"Well, um…"

The DOG-type glanced back at Spyke nervously, and Brass immediately became even more confused. Something was quite obviously up if the loyal royal blue medabot was acting wary of his own partner. Her suspicions grew when Krosserdog leaned toward her and shielded half of his face with one hand.

"Can we talk about it somewhere else?" he pleaded. "Someplace where we might not be overheard by…"

He quirked his head to one side, nodding briefly to the girl standing on Brass's other side. The Sailor Multi glanced back at her medafighter, whose attention was currently fixated on the robattle. Most of Erika's face was blocked from Brass's sight by the camera she held up, filming each blow.

For a moment, Brass was torn. Faithfulness to Miss Erika demanded she stay by her side at all times. But Krosserdog was clearly agitated about something, and compassion dictated that if there was the faintest chance she could assist in some fashion…

Plus, Erika appeared quite absorbed in getting down every last detail about this robattle so she could report on it later. Surely she wouldn't notice if Brass weren't right by her for just a few minutes…

So the SLR-type turned to Krosserdog and nodded agreement.

"Just don't lead us too far away, alright? I'd like to be able to keep an eye on Miss Erika, just in case…"

"Okay, okay," Krosserdog nodded, clearly relieved. Taking her hand, he added, "I know a good spot, come on…!"

He led the Sailor Multi away from the street and ducked into a nearby alleyway. After making certain she could see her partner from there – and noticing that Krosserdog checked on his medafighter as well – Brass turned her attention back to her companion.

"So, what exactly is the matter?"

"Well, um, I… I guess I need to ask you something real fast, okay?"

"What is it, Krosserdog?"

"Um…" The gray metal around the DOG-type's little black nose took on a reddish hue as he blurted, "Do you like me better as Krosserdog or Cyandog?"

Brass blinked.

"…Sorry?" she asked.

"D-do you like me okay when I'm Krosserdog, or did you like it better when I was just Cyandog?" he repeated, nervously staring at his hands as he swung his arms back and forth.

Brass double-blinked.

"I… I'm afraid I don't understand… What brought this on, exactly?"

"Um, um, well…" Krosserdog ducked his head further and mumbled, "Spyke asked me about it last night. He said he wanted to know which one I preferred, since he says he's gonna quit robattling and all…"

Brass blinked thrice, then her pink eyes widened considerably.

"What?!" she cried in unintentional mimicry of Metabee. "Why?!"

"Boss… Spyke wants to quit robattling," repeated Krosserdog, now apparently finding the pavement beneath his scuffling feet extremely fascinating.

Brass softened, immediately seeing how miserable the DOG-type was feeling. The green visor that covered his eyes had darkened, and he gazed at something past her sorrowfully. Turning to follow his line of vision, the SLR-type realized he was staring at Spyke. His medafighter still appeared to be focused on watching the fight, his back turned on the pair without even being aware of it.

"What happened?" she asked, turning her sympathetic rose gaze back on Brass.

"Bo…Spyke's been considering it off and on for a while now, actually," Krosserdog said, once again catching himself and calling his medafighter by name instead of the title he'd used so often. "Ever since he learned he was ranked in last place. He… told me about that when we… got back together."

Brass nodded, prompting, "But it's been a while, and so much has happened. Why bring that up now?"

"I don't know," and Krosserdog went back to scrutinizing the gravel. "I think…"

"What?" prompted Brass when the DOG-type hesitated.

"……I think part of it has to do with what happened the last day of the WRC," he explained, looking back up at her gravely. "You know, what with Metabee nearly…"

"…Oh," Brass nodded very meekly, briefly taking over Krosserdog's study of the pavement for her companion.

The awkward silence that followed was almost painful as unwanted memories came flooding back to them. Nearly drowning in a flood of strange memories, numb to the battles raging outside when Dr. Meta-Evil set his plot into motion. Surfacing from that dream only to be plunged into a nightmare. Giving everything they had to help Metabee battle the insane Meta-Evil, only to nearly lose him anyway…

Brass dragged herself back to reality with no small amount of effort, and cast about quickly for some other avenue of discussion – anything to escape the grim reveries. She eagerly latched onto the first question that popped into her mind, and blurted it out without really considering.

"So why did you want to ask me about this?"

"Huh?" Krosserdog murmured, double-blinking as her question jolted him back to the present.

"About which body I liked better, I mean," clarified Brass for him. Curiosity entered her voice as she pointed out, "Why not Metabee, or Peppercat, or Totalizer? I'm certain that if you talked to them, one of them might tell their medafighter, and they could help Spyke out with…"

"No way!" Krosserdog shook his head furiously. "Can you imagine how they'd react? Especially if Boss's Boss found out…"

"Oh, I suppose it's possible that Samantha might not take it very well," Brass conceded, sweating as she pictured the leader of the Screws reacting badly to the news that one of her followers was considering quitting robattling altogether.

"Right, it's no good," agreed Krosserdog, nodding frantically.

"But, then…" Brass tilted her head to one side, considering. "If you're worried about it getting out, I would think I would be the last one you'd want to come to. After all, I'm sorry to admit that Miss Erika appears to have an issue with keeping private matters private…"

"Um, yeah, but…"

"So why come to me?" Brass wondered, once again regarding Krosserdog curiously.

The reddish tint she had noticed before had not only returned, but also seemed brighter than ever. Krosserdog now seemed intent on memorizing every last detail of the ground beneath his shifting feet. Brass stared at him, perplexed by his peculiar behavior. One thing was clear, Spyke's serious consideration of no longer robattling, while clearly weighing heavily on the DOG-type's mind, couldn't be the only dilemma he grappled with.

But what else could there be? What could be causing him to act in such a strange manner? Brass had no clue, and she found that most distressing.

"Krosserdog, please tell me what's wrong," pleaded the SLR-type.

Reaching out, she gently placed her hands on his shoulders. Krosserdog went rigid at her touch, and slowly raised his head, staring at her incredulously. Brass gazed at his deep green visor, struggling to figure out why he acted so oddly.

"Just tell me. Why me? Why did you choose me?"

"Be… Because…" stammered the flustered DOG-type, "I… I kind of… um……"

But before he could spit out whatever was bothering him, everything suddenly went white. Brass blinked, reflexively squeezing her eyes shut at the blinding flash of light, and turned her head to see what caused it.

She instantly froze, rose eyes wide with shock, and felt Krosserdog do the exact same.

Another flash of light erupted before their vision, though this one was not as bad or startling as the first. Brass raised one arm to shield her face, blinking repeatedly as she stared at the smiling figure standing before them.

"This is much more interesting than a robattle," commented Erika with a smirk, lowering her camera for a moment and winking at the stunned pair. "Although I have to admit, Brass, you certainly surprised me!"

"Huh? Miss Erika, what…"

"I can't believe you didn't let me in on this!" the young reporter continued without giving her medabot a chance to respond. Her voice filled with mock disapproval, yet her cinnamon eyes sparkled as she went on, "Imagine, you didn't want to tell me you happened to like somebody!"

"What? What?" an utterly confused Brass asked, staring at her medafighter. "Like somebody? You mean…"

The Sailor Multi fell into shocked silence, rose gaze swiveling sharply from her beaming partner to the completely red-faced – blushing? – Krosserdog. For a few seconds, he met her shocked stare guiltily, and abruptly his strange behavior around her made perfect sense. Brass felt an odd tingling sensation in her face – could she be blushing as well…?

Suddenly he pulled away and scampered past her, nearly stumbling over his own two feet in his haste. Brass turned, reached out with one hand to stop him, about to cry out for him to wait…

(What am I going to say to him? What CAN I say? I, I don't know what…)

Her brief hesitation cost her the chance to say something, anything. The DOG-type slipped past Erika and was gone. Brass numbly watched him dash away, over to where Spyke was now looking around frantically for his partner. The boy finally spotted him, and as they reunited, the SLR-type's attention was called back to her own medafighter.

"You really should have told me, you know, Brass," mock-scolded Erika, grinning down at the Sailor Multi. When the medabot looked up at her with a lost expression in her faintly dimming rose eyes, the journalist softened and added, "Don't worry, I'm not mad or anything…"

They walked back home, Erika regaling Brass with plenty of tips and advice about boys that the SLR-type only half-listened to. Her thoughts were focused elsewhere; primarily on her own confused feelings, stirred the instant she realized Krosserdog felt something about her.

When they reached home, Erika ushered Brass into the house first. Mildly confused by this, Brass's puzzlement increased when her medafighter didn't step inside directly behind her.

"What's wrong, Miss Erika?" she asked, turning around.

"Hey, Brass, stay here for a bit, okay? I've got an errand I need to run really quick."

"I can accompany you if…"

"That's okay," and Erika smiled and winked impishly at Brass while she added, "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if you came along and saw what I was getting you, right?"

"Miss Erika, you don't have to…"

"Nonsense," Erika waved off her medabot's protest. "One, I think it would be nice if you got something special to show off to your new boyfriend when we get a nice little date set up for the both of you."

"Miss Erika…" Brass stammered, blushing again.

"Two," Erika continued, grin widening as she patted her trusty camera, "It's not everyday I get a reason to do a front-page story about you. I can see it now, 'Medabot Lovers Uncovered'! What a scoop!"

"Miss Erika!" gasped a now thoroughly scandalized Brass. "Please say that you're joking about that!"

"Why not?" Erika smiled brightly. "Everybody's going to find out sooner or later, especially when I call Spyke and let him know. After all that's happened lately, I think a cute little love story is just what the public needs to hear about, don't you?"

Before Brass could reply, the still beaming Erika shut the door and skipped off, the perfect gift for her medabot already firmly in mind. This was going to be a wonderful, romantic story…

Brass just stared at the inside of the door for a long time, desperately trying to sort out her thoughts. Her feelings were so jumbled and confused: too much had happened too quickly, and the SLR-type had no clue what to think.

"She wouldn't really put us on the front page… would she?" she wondered aloud, struggling to figure out her mixed-up feelings about such a concept.

~ * ~

Brass shook her head sorrowfully. Her question had been answered, in a sense: Erika had not turned her pictures and assumptions about her and Krosserdog into front-page news. That had gone instead to an even more shocking apparent romance… Now, she found any alternative acceptable.

(I can't do anything to change what Miss Erika saw. All I can do is fix what I can, stay by her side, and…)

"Brass, are you in here?"

The Sailor Multi looked up as a small blue head peered into the doorframe. Pink and green gazes met for a moment, then both averted their eyes elsewhere. Krosserdog slipped into the room quietly and once again took to studying what was beneath his feet, shuffling back and forth.

"Brass, about… about what happened yesterday," he began haltingly, shooting nervous, guilty glances at the SLR-type.

"No."

Krosserdog's head snapped up, and he stared at Brass, not knowing what to make of her short and unexpected response.

"Brass?"

Staring down at her hands, Brass realized they were trembling. She absently clasped them in front of her, lacing the fingers around each other, in an attempt to mask her nervous shaking.

"Krosserdog, as far as I'm concerned, whatever happened yesterday concerning what you said isn't important right now," she murmured. "I've got too much else to worry about right now."

She continued to study her hands, silently willing them to stop shaking. She didn't dare look up at Krosserdog to see his reaction: the knowledge that she was causing him pain was terrible enough without having to watch him crumble.

"I… see," the DOG-type whimpered shortly, turning away.

Brass felt a terrible wrenching sensation, like something had torn into her chest hard enough to make her body cease function, even though she knew everything should be running normally. She could hear the heavy sorrow in Krosserdog's voice; it reminded her all too much of when Cyandog had inadvertently overheard Spyke talking about his new Krosserdog body and believed he was permanently replaced. It had hurt Brass hearing the DOG-type so forlorn and resigned then, and it ached even worse now.

(This is for the best. I just can't deal with this right now, not when Miss Erika needs me so badly…)

She kept reminding herself of this, hugging her legs tightly and keeping her gaze averted even as Krosserdog turned and ran out of the room, presumably back to his medafighter.

(I can't deal with this. How could I possibly try to figure out whether or not I like him when… How can I consider a boyfriend when Miss Erika's so alone?)

Getting to her feet, Brass looked up toward the dark ceiling of the storage room, seeking answers to questions she couldn't even quite form in her own thoughts.

(Sorry, Krosserdog. Maybe if this wasn't such bad timing…)

She turned back toward the light coming from the open doorway, rose eyes quickly sweeping over the outside. Sure enough, the DOG-type had retreated to his partner's side. The blue medabot was the picture of despondence, slumped down beside a very worried and confused-looking Spyke, who was asking him Krosserdog in vain what was the matter with him. Sloan studied the pair interestedly, an unreadable expression on his face.

Henry and Karin were also looking over, both looking confused and a little dismayed at the scene. Neutranurse, Sumilidon and Kantaroth all looked at their fellow medabot with concern. Koji and Rintaro seemed more interested in pointedly ignoring at each other at the moment. Samantha was apparently absorbed in another activity: glaring daggers at none other than Brass's own medafighter.

Erika also appeared oblivious to the scene, instead working intently on her camera. Brass forced herself to approach her medafighter, acting as if she didn't see Krosserdog's sorrow.

(Once this has been sorted out, I can figure out how I feel about… Then, I can give you the straight answer you deserve, Krosserdog. Until then… Miss Erika comes first.)

Brass sat down next to her medafighter, and took to studying the floor with dim rose eyes.

(Miss Erika always comes first…)


	11. A CATtype's Crush

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

Another warning about spoilers for the final episode of the WRC arc, just so you all know. If you haven't seen the ending of that episode, some of this will not make a whole lot of sense, and you'll likely find out stuff about what happened that, if you didn't see it yet, you'll wish you hadn't learned. Just so everybody's clear on that…

~ * Part Eleven: A CAT-type's Crush (And a KWG-type's Concerns) * ~

A blur of scarlet and silver sprang nimbly from lamppost to awning, awning to rooftop, rooftop to tree. It did not immediately reemerge from the leafy boughs and leap to the nearest clear space, however. Instead, a frustrated sigh echoed from within the concealing leaves.

A few minutes later, a Hercules Beetle medabot came jogging down the same street, looking rather peeved. As he reached the tree, something swung down directly in front of him. The KBT-type recoiled, startled by the fact that a pair of familiar and equally annoyed crystal blue eyes was now glaring at him from an upside-down face.

"Gk-gk-gk-gk-gk! Don't do that!" he shouted, swiftly trading shock for spite.

"Then don't fall so far behind," instructed Peppercat.

The CAT-type then swung herself back up into the tree and perched on one of the thicker branches. Her cerulean eyes shone against the deep green hue of the leaves surrounding her as she looked down at the recovering KBT-type almost scornfully.

"I don't believe this," she sighed, resting her chin in one hand.

(To think, he's supposed to be better than me… Guess that proves that you can't always judge a medabot by his ranking…)

(Especially when one of the greatest medabots around isn't even registered…)

Her eyes glowed a bit brighter and a faint rosy tint began to spread over her face. However, both changes were very brief, as Peppercat caught her thoughts wandering and shook her head sharply, jolting herself back to full function. She stole an embarrassed glance down at Metabee; thankfully, the KBT-type had not been watching her closely enough to catch her slip-up.

(Keep it together, Peppercat. Plenty of time for that once you pull this off…)

She watched disdainfully as Metabee fought to hide his weariness. To his credit, the KBT-type had been able to keep up with her rapid pace for some time – certainly longer than she had expected – and he didn't have a body-type suited for or modified for incredible speed. Apparently what sustained him was more a mixture of endurance, stamina and stubbornness.

Still, Peppercat couldn't help but feel annoyed with him. After all, the slower he traveled, the longer this little quest of theirs would take – and the longer she'd have to wait for a chance at her ideal boyfriend.

(I've waited too long already for a chance like this, damnit!)

The CAT-type wasn't too pleased with the exact circumstances that had led up to this chance, mind you. The difficulties that her medafighter was currently having with her love life affected her own life dramatically. Peppercat was simply working to ensure that some of those dramatic changes would be in her benefit…

"Are you ready to go yet?" she demanded, standing up on her branch and placing her hands on her hips. Mocking scorn entered her tone as she prodded, "Or does the 'third-best medabot in all Japan' still need a bit more rest before he gets left in the dust again by someone else?"

"Gk-gk-gk-gk! You're gonna be choking on my dust!" screamed Metabee, shaking a fist up at the CAT-type.

"Somehow I doubt that. Although it would be nice, seeing as how you're supposed to be the one leading me to where I need to go," retorted Peppercat. "But if you're not up to it, just point me in the right direction and…"

"Hold up! I'll show you exactly where he hangs out! Just follow me, and try to keep up!"

  
Metabee stormed forward, down the sidewalk. Peppercat watched him stomp ahead of her for a while, turning around on her branch without ever taking her eyes off him.

"Somehow I think that won't be a problem," she muttered.

She gazed past Metabee in the general direction that he was heading. It was only the first on a mental checklist of places they might be able to find the object of their search. If this didn't pan out, the KBT-type had assured her that he knew many other locations they could try next.

Peppercat really hoped that they'd find the one they were looking for soon, preferably before it got too dark out. After all, she had promised Samantha that she would return home before nightfall. The CAT-type didn't want to risk losing her medafighter's trust: it would cut too deeply into the rest of her plans.

(Right, one step at a time. If we don't find him today, there's always tomorrow…)

(……I really hope we find him today.)

She leapt out of the tree and followed Metabee. The pace was considerably slower than the one she had set and would have preferred to maintain, but at least they were moving…

~ * ~

Wisps of varying shades of white wove abstract patterns against a backdrop of cerulean. Sometimes vaguely familiar shapes would form, only to morph into something strange and unrecognizable as minutes rolled lazily by. Sometimes bright light would poke through its cottony covers, and sometimes it would disappear completely, only to suddenly pop into view later just as bold and brilliant as ever.

A pair of fiery eyes studied the ever-changing face of the sky above. Their owner was consistently amazed with the fact that the heavens never looked exactly the same whenever he beheld it, no matter how many sunny, cloudy or rainy days he spent watching it weave its designs.

Even when night encroached and the world was blanketed with darkness, the stars never seemed exactly the same. But night would not come for a few hours yet, not until the sun finished its path through the sky and set the heavens aflame with hues of red, orange and yellow. Or perhaps it might go more gently tonight, fading into hues of royal purple, rose and blue. Only time would tell.

(And then the skies will seem so deep that one might feel as if one might be sucked into its depths, never to return…)

The crimson eyes of Rokusho gleamed like fiery rubies as his thoughts drifted down familiar pathways. As was so often the case when he studied the skies, memories rose to reassert themselves, flooding in and out through his contemplation.

Some memories and thought-paths were less timeworn than others were. Certain events that had occurred recently – some of which very recently – had altered his musings considerably. The lingering pain of some old wounds was dulled somewhat by recent discoveries, but new concerns and fears had been raised in their stead.

(Professor Hushi……)

The KWG-type was plagued with mixed emotions concerning his long-lost medafighter. Though his spirit had swelled with jubilation when a miracle allowed him to once more gaze upon his vanished master's face, to hear his kindly voice speak his name anew and not merely in memory…

(Professor, why did you have to leave again?)

It was childish and silly for him to think this way: at least, that was what Rokusho kept silently admonishing himself. All the same… it hardly seemed fair that he had finally been reunited with his medafighter after all these years, only to lose him again. It had been all too brief, the distance between them too far, and before he had realized it the professor was gone again.

Too much had gone unsaid, too much left undone, too much unresolved. It was like in the confusion of everything that had happened that night the happy reunion that should have occurred had gotten buried by other, more important matters. Matters more important to most involved, at least…

(He was too far away for me to even touch. I never even really got to say goodbye.)

Rokusho shook his head at his own musings, frustrated with himself.

(Selfish… What would the Professor think if he saw me moping over such a small detail? A horrible crisis was just barely averted… The fate of all humanity and medabots hung in the balance. And here I am sulking over the fact I didn't get to hug my medafighter before he left again.)

The KWG-type's scarlet eyes burned as he continued his contemplation of the sky above.

(I have no real reason to obsess over this. The Professor told me that he was sorry he had to leave. He said it would just be for a little while longer. He must be planning to return someday.)

This time, at least, Rokusho had every reason to trust that his medafighter would return someday. It was nothing like years ago, when their home had been set ablaze and the Stag Beetle had thought himself the only survivor.

That fire had been set by the treacherous Armond, a former assistant to the Professor that later became known as the infamous Dr. Meta-Evil. He had been the mastermind behind so many plots to destroy the world as they knew it. His last plot had been to recreate the Ten Days of Darkness, only ensuring that this time, the darkness would never be lifted.

Only the determination of those who opposed him – as well as Metabee's near self-sacrifice – had brought the evil doctor's plans crashing to the ground.

The misguided Armond would hopefully never be a threat to anyone on Earth ever again. Rokusho seriously wanted to believe that was the case – just as he wished to believe that the fact Meta-Evil had left along with Professor Hushi wasn't anything he needed to be worried about.

(People are capable of changing. Hopefully Armond isn't too stubbornly set in his ways to be incapable of changing.)

The fact that Professor Hushi had turned up alive and well only to leave again stirred other painful emotions. The worst and most hurtful of these was one Rokusho had long thought he had learned to deal with, only to discover he didn't have nearly as much a handle on it as previously believed.

Simply put, he was lonely.

The KWG-type hadn't thought it so terrible over the past several months. Ever since his initial encounter with Metabee, Ikki and Erika, Rokusho had gradually developed several new friendships over the following incidents with the KBT-type and his companions. The medabots and medafighters he had become familiar with over time had helped fill a void that had gone empty far too long, a hole that had been burned inside him when his home was reduced to ashes.

Yet there was still a sense of incompleteness. Despite everything, Rokusho never felt fully a part of the group that surrounded Metabee and Ikki. He fought alongside them, sought the same goals, but at the end of each conflict there was one major thing separating him from the medabots he aided.

Each one had a partner that was always with them, in spirit if not in person. Each was perfectly paired off with another, with a medafighter that would do anything to support them, anything to be there for them, no matter what danger they faced.

Rokusho had nobody to return to after each conflict.

True, he had regained Baton thanks to the kindness of Karin and Dr. Aki's restoration. Yet the wannabe-weather forecasting parrot was far from an equivalent of having Ikki, Erika, Karin or the like watching over him the way they did their own partners.

Besides, Baton had shown a particular affinity toward Dr. Aki ever since he was repaired. He had become more of a flying, mobile link between Rokusho and Dr. Aki, relaying information back and forth between them. Rokusho understood this completely and bore no ill will against either for this; he had even been the one to suggest the current arrangement to them.

The fact remained, however, that neither the parrot or the doctor had the ability to offer Rokusho the kind of companionship he longed for. He could never see Dr. Aki as a replacement for the professor, and while Baton was nice to have around sometimes, he was never with the KWG-type long enough to completely stave off the bouts of loneliness he was prone to suffering.

Rokusho wasn't entirely certain he could find anything to repair the damage he internalized because of his partner-less state. That was exactly why he kept it silent, refusing to let others know anything of his sorry state. The last thing he needed was the more sensitive of his friends feeling bad for his sake, or the less sensitive giving him advice on how to get over it.

The KWG-type continued to study the sky, waiting for night to fall so he could see how the sun decided to set. Then he would be able to watch the stars and wonder which of the glittering points of light Professor Hushi was studying tonight.

~ * ~

"Great, there he is," Metabee pointed out the KWG-type overlooking the lake. "Told you I'd find him for you."

"Only after we went searching over half the town," quipped Peppercat.

Despite her sardonic tone, the CAT-type was very pleased with the way things were developing. Just as she had hoped, Metabee knew Rokusho well enough that he was able to take her to several of the Stag Beetle medabot's favorite haunts and finally lead her straight to him. She had already committed the places they had visited before to memory for the sake of future reference.

Now, however, her full attention was commanded by the fact that the object of their search was standing a tantalizingly short distance away. His attention appeared to be focused elsewhere, so Peppercat took advantage of his apparent distraction to take in the mere sight of the KWG-type.

Rokusho stood silhouetted against the crystal clear lake, face turned toward the sky, cloak fluttering in the wind. She could just make out the golden blade of his Chanbara sword poking out underneath the flapping fabric, its sharp edge gleaming as it briefly caught the sunlight.

Peppercat stood stock still, mesmerized by the sight. The faint blush she had fought back earlier when she merely pictured the KWG-type in her thoughts was threatening to come back with a vengeance. Stars began to twinkle in her crystal blue eyes as her mind raced, struggling to form the perfect phrases to get his attention and start the next phase of her plan…

"Yo, Rokusho! Get over here, we've been looking all over for ya! Come on!!"

"Metabee!" hissed Peppercat, whirling on the KBT-type in a rage.

"What? You're the one that was in such a hurry to find him," Metabee pointed out.

"Greetings, Metabee, Peppercat," Rokusho said pleasantly, turning and joining the pair. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting to see either of you today… How have Ikki and Samantha been faring lately?"

"Don't ask," muttered Metabee sourly.

"I see," Rokusho nodded wisely. "I overheard rumors concerning the two of them today, and from what I understand…"  


"Gk-gk-gk! Can we talk about something else already?!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend…"

"Don't mind him," Peppercat jumped in smoothly. "Metabee's just upset that he was one of the last ones to find out about what's been happening lately…"

"What?!"

"Anyway, we didn't come here to talk about that exactly," she forged on.

"I understand. So, what is it you wished to discuss then?"

"Well…"

"Look, we need you to act like you're Peppercat's boyfriend for a while, okay?" Metabee interrupted.

"Metabee!!" snarled the CAT-type, turning on the KBT-type with a look in her blue eyes promising he was very close to becoming a scratching post.

"Excuse me?" interjected a surprised Rokusho.

"Here's the deal," Metabee went on, ignoring the death glare Peppercat had fixed him with. "I don't like Peppercat in the same way Ikki likes Samantha, but there's bound to be idiots who think differently. She doesn't want to get stuck with me the same way I don't want to be stuck with her…"

"So you need me to be seen treating Peppercat as my girlfriend," finished Rokusho for him.

"Yep," Metabee crossed his arms and nodded. "So, how about it? Can you help us out?"

"I'd appreciate it if you would just give this a chance for a while," interjected Peppercat, tilting her head to one side cutely. "You shouldn't have to pretend for very long…"

(…Before I make you fall in love with me, that is.)

"Come on, do it for a pal. Just a favor between us guys, right?"

Rokusho looked back and forth between the two, from the beaming Peppercat to the stubbornly 'not-calling-it-pleading' Metabee and back again. Their request seemed extremely odd to the KWG-type – as well as rather intriguing. If nothing else, it would be a distraction from the troubling thoughts that had been plaguing him recently, since the end of the WRC…

Besides, he couldn't really ignore a request from somebody like Metabee, who wasn't one to ask for any sort of assistance.

"All right," he consented with a simple nod. "I fail to see the harm in playing along with this plan of yours for a while at least…"

"Great!" Metabee exclaimed, clearly relieved. The KBT-type then stretched out and folded his arms behind his head, sighing a bit too loudly, "Now I don't have to worry about getting stuck with Peppercat…"

"You make it sound like that would be a bad thing," commented Peppercat, mildly annoyed at him.

Inside, however, the CAT-type was practically flipping cartwheels out of sheer glee. Metabee's brazen outline of her plan hadn't caused Rokusho to reject it completely. As long as things kept going this well for her, by the time Samantha and Ikki worked out their own little romantic dilemma, Peppercat would have a very nice prize to show for the whole ordeal.

(Just you watch, Rokusho. I'll prove to you that I can make you love me…)


	12. Cold Calculations

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Twelve: Cold Calculations (Plotting and Preparation) * ~

As the afternoon sky traded its clear cerulean hue for a rich shade of purple, so did the frost-haired child who called herself Sairen Shimoha shed her current identity for another more befitting the night.

She had long ceased spying upon the Hop Mart for the day: after her robattle with Samantha, little else of interest had occurred inside. Less than an hour after Samantha had reentered the shop, all of the children had exited and gone their separate ways. Sairen had hung around long enough to observe their departure, searching for any possible weaknesses.

She had picked up on several details that intrigued her, but until she uncovered more information, she was choosing simply to file it away for later.

Samantha had been the first to leave, not surprisingly: equally unsurprising was the nasty grimace the girl's face was twisted into, the anger blazing in her deep turquoise eyes. Sairen took all this in from the cover of the shadowed alleyway, watching the supposed girlfriend of Tenryou storm past in silence.

She was unafraid of being spotted and challenged again. Sairen was fully aware that Samantha's medabot, the fiery CAT-type, had departed after their robattle. There had been some temptation to seize this opportunity and forge ahead with the plan, but the frost-haired girl understood the need for patience.

Timing was everything. Better not to make a move that could break the plan before it even began.

So she waited, and watched. A few minutes after Samantha passed by, the male members of the Screws gang followed, much as Sairen had expected. She noted with mild interest that one of the boys, the taller one with dark spiked hair, had called his medabot out and was desperately trying to get said medabot's attention. The blue DOG-type appeared awfully depressed, for its head was hung and shoulders slumped as it trudged along beside its confused and upset medafighter.

Sairen was uncertain what had caused the DOG-type's melancholy. However, she recalled from reports that his medafighter was not particularly skilled when it came to robattling. She assumed that it was as probable an explanation as any: a poor battle partner would spark gloom in most medabots.

She scarcely took note of the heavyset boy with them, dismissing the gang as a whole. While it was possible their involvement with Samantha could cause problems once the plan was underway, neither boy had proven a major threat in the past. They were simply a small part of a larger group of troublemakers, barely worth noting by themselves.

There was strength in numbers. It was just that some of that particular number were stronger than others.

The next ones to depart were a reminder of that. A limousine of a very distinctive color pulled up in front of the Hop Mart, and six more meddlers boarded: a trio of kids and their trio of medabots. Sairen had little doubt that the boys would not have been caught dead getting into a pink car had it not been for the pretty redhead walking between them.

Sairen's lips curled slightly in a disdainful grimace as she recalled the scene. It appeared that the girl, Karin, had splurged on new meda-parts for her nurse medabot. The boys had opted to carry all her parcels for her, enlisting the help of their own medabots to carry what they couldn't.

From the sheer amount of packages they had stuffed into the limousine, the redhead could have armed an entire army of medabots if she so chose.

The girl had then invited the boys to join her inside the car, and they eagerly did so, squeezing inside as best they could. Both males alternated between glaring evilly at the other and smiling sweetly at the girl as their ride departed.

Sairen shook her head at the memory, pale eyes glittering faintly as she opened them slightly. She failed to understand what appeal the redhead held for the boys. Unless, of course, they liked the combination of lots of money and little mind…

Afterwards, the last of the troublemakers had left the shop: the female junior reporter and her Sailor Multi medabot. Sairen had noted that the medabot seemed affected by some odd melancholy, but saw no explanation other than the fact that her partner was also in a funk.

All for the better. Sairen cared little for their personal problems, so long as they didn't interfere with her own plans.

There had been little reason to stick around the Hop Mart after the reporter's departure, so Sairen had quickly taken her leave as well. She was not particularly fond of the young man that worked there, and so departed rather than enter and attempt to learn more about what had transpired.

Now she had a meeting of her own that she must attend. The frost-haired girl shed her jacket, blouse and faded jeans, unrolling the thin, dark material that she wore underneath.   


While the Rubberobo uniforms were much ridiculed by many of its enemies, there were certain aspects of the common attire that were quite ingenious. The slick, pitch black rubber/spandex hybrid material used for the basic uniform was surprisingly comfortable once you adjusted to the strangeness of pulling on the stretchy suit. It was dark enough to blend in with any shadows, and left only the wearer's hands and face uncovered. Plus, it was thin enough that it could be hidden underneath most clothing, allowing for quick changes if the situation demanded.

The sunglasses were also useful in concealing one's identity. If you believed the saying that the eyes serve as windows to the soul, then the shades blocked any chance of any acquaintances they happened to run into from peering inside and glimpsing anything familiar.

In short, the uniforms made it nearly impossible for the wearer to be identified: it was simply too much of a drastic change. So long as the member carefully safeguarded their secrets, the chance of anybody figuring out the connection between any one Rubberobo and somebody they passed on the street was practically nil.

The girl who called herself Sairen Shimoha pulled her suit's built-in hood up carefully. This particular feature was the one she found most useful: to her frustration, her frost-pale blond hair and equally icy eyes were distressingly memorable. However, with the dark sunglasses concealed said eyes quite nicely, while the hood covered her snowy locks. Only a few bangs remained uncovered, poking out just beneath the twin bronze antennae that announced her rank to her peers.

Her high rank was one of the few benefits of the recent WRC debacle. Prior to that damnable incident, while Sashimi had garnered respect from those few who knew of her particular assignment, afterwards her position had become markedly more crucial to the Rubberobo gang's survival. Hence, the new pair of antennae that served as her 'tiara'.

A smirk ghosted over Sashimi's features, her cold eyes glittering unseen behind her sunglasses.

(To think there was a time when I was passed over for major assignments such as that Stockholm Fire deception. Not that it upset me… that much.)

In light of how that particular plan had turned out, perhaps she should have been involved. Considering how the Tenryou boy and his companions had reacted at first upon learning that their crushes were Rubberobo members – then reacted once they learned the bigger secret behind the deception – her presence might have given them the edge it would have required.

But powerful female members of the Rubberobo gang were quite rare. Attractive female Rubberobos could be even more difficult to find, depending on what standards one searched by.

There were several reasons Sashimi had been passed over for one of the slots on the Stockholm Fire team. At the time it was being conceived and created, she was already assigned to her primary role for the Rubberobo gang, a very important position in itself – even more so given their current situation. It had taken plenty of time to set her up, and transferring would raise too many questions.

Also – while she was pretty, her slate blue eyes already had a certain icy edge that could possibly offset some of her charm.

Not that she minded. From what she had seem, the Stockholm Fire team wore outfits that were not entirely suited to her taste. Not to mention that their medabots were all but useless in a real robattle.

That was entirely the fault of their medafighters. The trio had been foolish enough to believe their plot meant they would not have to bother training for robattle. While it was true pulling the scam off properly meant they rarely fought their opponents, had they kept up their training, they would not have been rendered entirely defenseless once they were exposed.

Sashimi felt no pity for 'Annika', 'Siri' and 'Margareta'. The trio had been arrested shortly after their exposure, and with the Rubberobo gang's current state there was no chance they would be rescued from prison. They would never escape whatever fate the justice system had planned for the posers.

It was survival of the fittest. The former members of Stockholm Fire were far from the fittest.

(Not that everyone who remains are all great prizes themselves.)

Making a minute adjustment to her attire, ensuring she looked her absolute best in the dark uniform, Sashimi slid her dark blue and white meda-watch onto one slender wrist and headed off to her meeting.

~ * ~

Shrimplips suppressed a shudder as he nervously cased the hideout for any familiar, if disguised, faces. Seeing none, the small man swallowed hard to fight down the tight, hard knot forming in his throat.

(What am I doing here on my own? I must be insane!)

(…No, wait. I already decided I was insane to stay part of the Rubberobo gang in the first place.)

(Fine, then. I'm insane enough for two people. Hey, I'm a real overachiever, aren't I?)

The chuckle that bubbled from his dry lips at his own private joke was far from mirthful. Shrimplips was glad that his dark glasses concealed the apprehensive darting of his beady eyes from his dark-suited comrades, though his own uniform did little to conceal the sweat rolling down his pale skin.

(Where are Seaslug, Gillgirl and Squidguts when I need them?)

Seaslug, Shrimplips was pretty sure, was with his Caviar girl. While he was likely the only one of their old group that had the chance to escape servitude from the Rubberobo gang, Shrimplips found himself heartily wishing that the fool hadn't taken it.

Not that he begrudged him the chance to get out of the evil organization. It would simply be reassuring to see at least one of his old partners right about then.

"Well, if it isn't the shrimp!" boomed a deep voice from above him.

The lump rising in Shrimplips' throat gave a convulsive jump, and he swallowed hard before slowly looking upward. His heart quickened its pace considerably as his gaze continued to travel up over a thick barrel chest to rest on a sneering face that could only be described as hideous. The nasty smile the taller Rubberobo wore hardly lent his coarse, blunt features any charm.

"Good to see ya, shrimpy!" the thug sneered. "Where's your friends at?"

Shrimplips stared back down at the ground, biting the inside of his lip almost hard enough to draw blood to keep himself from rising to the other's bait. Then a thick foot lanced into his stomach, and there suddenly was the tang of blood in his mouth. The small man crumpled forward, fighting to keep standing. If he fell down, it would just afford his tormentor that much more satisfaction.

"Not so high-and-mighty now that you don't have your friends to hide behind, eh?" the brute snarled, and the side of his hand crashed against the smaller man's face. When Shrimplips still refused to reply, the thug frowned, then brought his hand back again and balled it into a fist, growling, "C'mon, why don't you cry, baby?!"

A gunshot rang out, and the crowded room instantly went silent. The thug reeled, clutching his raised wrist with his other hand in an attempt to staunch the blood that flowed from the fresh wound in his arm. A jagged shard now jutted from his wrist.

"Come on… Why don't you cry, baby?" Sashimi echoed the ruffian's earlier words in her deathly calm, frigid tone.

Behind her, a medabot crouched in the shadows, almost completely concealed. All that could be seen clearly of the figure was its glowing ice blue eyes – and that its right arm was raised in front of it, something on its wrist hissing faintly in the dead silence.

Sashimi stalked toward the ruffian, the crowd of Rubberobos allowing her through without a single word of protest. Self-preservation was a major trait practically all members had in common, and considering the girl's medabot shadow had just stuck an ice shard in the thug's wrist, none were particularly willing to risk their own limbs.

Besides, despite the girl's petite frame, the icy glare she leveled up at the thug could be felt even through the dark lenses of her sunglasses.

"I do hope you come up with a believable public excuse for your injury," she told the brute calmly. "It would be rather sad if you were exposed simply because you have difficulty reining in your nasty temper and poor sense of judgement."

The brute seethed with rage – but did not raise a hand against the girl. Her twin antennae signified she was higher ranked than he was, and could make could on any threats she made – just as the medabot who had injured him so readily had shown.

Sashimi's frigid glare bore into the brute as he backed away. Behind her, Shrimplips staggered to his feet, clutching at his aching stomach. Sashimi did not so much as glance down at the little man, as her icy gaze swept across to the rest of the gathered members.

"Surely all of you must see the folly of turning against your own comrades now," she declared, her calm voice echoing clearly through the otherwise silent room. "In the wake of the disaster at the World Robattle Cup, there should be no tolerance of petty infighting. Just because you don't happen to find your company all that pleasant does not mean you have the right to turn against them. None of us have that luxury."

Ripples of muted conversation rumbled through the gathered Rubberobos as they considered her words. Sashimi paused long enough to let the mumbling die down, then forged ahead.

"If the Rubberobo gang is to survive, we must work together – no matter how deplorable you may find some of your comrades. Indeed, the livelihood – or rather, the lives of each person here depends on the cooperation of your companions. We are all that remain of the once glorious gang… To regain that former glory, we must be prepared for any contingency."

The rumblings grew louder, and Sashimi motioned for silence.

"We have the ability to rebuild, and rebuild we shall. Already the wheels have been set in motion. Obstacles that have plagued us in the past will be removed, problems solved, enemies dealt with. Many of our most precious resources remain undiscovered by those who would destroy us, and we shall use them to our full advantage. We are the Rubberobo gang, and we will never be vanquished by petty setbacks!"

The crowd began to cheer, and Sashimi turned away and stalked out of the chamber, Shrimplips trailing behind her.

"We cannot allow the errors of the past to go unchecked," she murmured, more to herself than to her companion. "Thankfully, it seems that the most persistent of our problems has given us something vital to use against them…"

"You mean those meddling kids, don't you?" piped Shrimplips.

"Indeed," Sashimi nodded once. Removing her shades from her closed eyes, she rubbed the lenses with a cloth while she continued, "In a few days we will be ready to take the wheel and steer the brats away from the path they have already unknowingly set down for us. They will continue to play directly into our hands… I'll make certain of that."

"Good. But, um… Why wait?" Shrimplips asked uncertainly.

"Simple."

Sashimi turned to face her partner, and the cold expression on her face sent chills down his spine. Her eyes were half-open, slits of frosted steel revealing a will just as strong and frigid. The faintest smile ghosted over her lips, but failed to touch her icy eyes.

"I can't afford to miss a single day of class, now can I?"


	13. Odd Coincidences

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Thirteen: Odd Coincidences (And Odder Acquaintances) * ~

Ikki Tenryou woke up with a yawn and a squirming body wrapped in his arms.

The first was not so unusual; it took several seconds for his sleep-fogged mind to comprehend that the second was very unusual. In the groggy state that always muted his senses whenever he awoke, the lines between dreams and reality took some time to reinstate themselves. By the time he dimly realized that something was horribly wrong with this picture, it was too late.

"Gk-gk-gk-gk-gk-gk! IKKI! That's it!"

The feel of a cool gun barrel pressing against his forehead effectively snapped Ikki out of his half-asleep state. Blue eyes flew open and filled with a mixture of comprehension and fear.

"SEEKER…"

"Waaaaahhh--!"

With propulsion that neatly mirrored his reaction when he had fallen upon Samantha yesterday afternoon, Ikki sprang out of his bed just in time to avoid getting his medabot's signature attack right between his eyes. Said blue eyes were roughly the size of dinner plates as he flattened himself against the wall, kicking things off his messy dresser as he fought to remain on his unlikely perch.

"Metabee! Don't DO that!" he howled.

The KBT-type sat cross-legged on Ikki's bed, green eyes ablaze with outrage.

"Gk-gk-gk! Then stop treating me like some stupid teddy bear!" he shot back. "I'm sick of ending up in your arms every morning!"  
  
"What…?!" Ikki blushed for a minute as he realized that he had been cuddling his medabot, especially as it dawned on him why exactly he had been engaged in the odd activity. His entire face went crimson as he retorted, "Then stop climbing into my bed, or sleep outside or something!"

"It's my room too!"

"It was my room first!"

"Gk-gk-gk-gk-gk--! Fine! Maybe I WILL find someplace else to sleep! Anything to get away from you and your creepy obsession with Samantha!"

"I am not obsessed with Samantha, you…!"

"Yeah, right. Whatever you say, Ikki…"

Metabee swung off the bed and strolled out the door, arms folded behind his head. Behind him, a crimson-faced Ikki continued to sputter half-incoherent denials, finally giving up as he realized they were going completely ignored by his partner. Furious, he quickly yanked on his normal outfit and dashed out into the hallway after the KBT-type.

(Why does everyone insist that I like Samantha? Just because Erika took those stupid photographs…)

Ikki sulked petulantly, unable to decide which girl he should blame more for his current predicament. He, of course, was blameless… right? It wasn't his fault both girls had a tendency to take things the wrong way!

Okay, so technically he had been the one to put that note in Sam's locker – but only because he knew he couldn't talk to her with an audience! And Erika had no reason to follow him the way she did (how had she found out, anyway? Did she have some sort of radar detecting when he especially didn't need or want her around?)

One thing was for certain: until this mess was straightened out, school would be even more hideous a place to be stuck for most of the weekdays. Erika's latest tabloid-worthy 'exclusive' had spread throughout the entire place yesterday, and he wasn't looking forward to returning and suffering through the long hours of taunting, jeering, whispering and gossiping that he'd endured then.

Not to mention that no doubt Coach Mountain would be ready to seize upon the smallest excuse to force Ikki and his rumored girlfriend into another heavy-duty exercise session together.

(But why is everyone so obsessed with the idea of us as a couple?! I mean, the chances of Samantha and me ever getting together are about as high as… as Salty getting rabies!)

At that moment, Salty came barreling down the hall and shot past Ikki moving as fast as his little canine legs could take him, a thick foam covering most of his furry white muzzle.

"Whoa, what's gotten into the little guy?" Metabee wondered as he walked onto the scene, staring in the direction his puppy pal had fled. "Somebody drop a steak or something?"

When his medafighter failed to answer his query, the KBT-type looked up at him and blinked his glowing green eyes twice.

"Ikki, why are you covering your eyes and saying, 'I didn't see that,' over and over again? You're starting to creep even me out…"

"Oh, hello boys," Chidori piped, sticking her head round the corner. "Did you happen to see Salty run by?"

"No," replied Ikki, still covering the upper half of his face with one hand.

"Yup," replied Metabee, pointing where the little canine had fled.

"Thank you, Metabee," Mrs. Tenryou said, then hurried past them, armed with a toothbrush and shouting, "Salty, please! If we don't take care of that nasty plaque buildup, you'll get canine cavities!"

"…Yeah… Man, am I glad medabots don't have to worry about stuff like that," Metabee observed, shaking his head at Chidori's antics.

Ikki tuned his partner out as the KBT-type launched into a list of all the things that made medabots superior to humans and animals. Right now, he wasn't in the mood to put up with Metabee's boasting. In his mind, there was only one detail that mattered, one major difference that made the KBT-type's argument for him.

Medabots never had to worry about having to go to school and face a hung jury of their peers.

With a deep sigh, Ikki shouldered his backpack and trudged out the door, looking very much like an innocent man wrongly convicted of a crime he hadn't committed off to his own execution.

~ * ~

Not all children were as adverse to another day of school as Ikki was. Several actually looked forward to it. Then again, not everyone had the same reasons to dread returning to their respective places of education… Even some of his close friends were not nearly as affected by the recent scandal.

Karin stepped out of her candy pink limousine and stretched out her arms, exulting in the crisp morning wind that set her orange ponytails to bobbing. Her deep emerald eyes danced as she surveyed the massive Rosewood campus surrounding her. Although she had driven right up to the main school itself, mornings as beautiful as these seemed more suited to a nice, leisurely walk.

Of course, if she had taken it into her mind to try walking, it would have taken nearly the entire school day to reach the main building, and she could forget making it to any of her classes on time.

That didn't mean, however, that she couldn't enjoy a short, brisk constitutional before heading to first period.

Humming cheerfully, Karin fairly skipped along the white marble pathways that wove through most of the gardens surrounding the immediate area around the main Rosewood campus. The redhead's ponytails bounced merrily behind her, helping to draw even more attention than she was already getting from her fervent admirers.

Abruptly, however, she paused in mid-pirouette, her arms still poised in mid-swing. Karin double-blinked, confusion flashing over her face.

A familiar-looking girl was sitting on one of the marble benches in the main courtyard, face turned away as she gazed at something in a direction opposite of where Karin stood. She was clad in the standard uniform issued to all female Rosewood students: nearly-white shirt with green trim on the collar and sleeves, pink Rosewood symbol emblazoned on the left sleeve, and forest green skirt. Actually, it suited her quite nicely, considering how pale her creamy white skin was.

It also nearly matched her nearly snow-white blonde hair.

"Oh!" Karin blinked again and walked over, smiling faintly. "Why, aren't you…"

The frost-haired girl turned her head to look at her, and Karin felt her warm greeting freeze and wither in her throat. Although the redhead was almost certain this was the same girl she'd seen robattling with Samantha outside the Hop Mart yesterday, the sight of the other's face sent all thoughts of talking about that fight flying out of her mind.

The girl's eyes were extremely pale, and immediately caught Karin's full attention. They were nearly colorless, an icy blue that, when shadowed by the girl's bangs as they currently were, appeared more of a slate gray. For a fleeting instant, an image of a sharp knife with the blade frosted over flashed through Karin's mind.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, and Karin inhaled sharply, a near-gasp of…

(Terror?)

"What's the matter, Karin?" a familiar voice asked at her ear.

"Koji…" Karin sighed the name thankfully. "You frightened me…"

"Sorry," and Koji did sound genuinely sorry at the prospect of scaring his longtime friend so. Not wanting Karin to dwell on that little mistake, he quickly changed the subject by inquiring, "So who are you talking to?"

He looked directly at the student sitting on the bench in front of them, and blinked once in surprise.

"Say, aren't you that girl we saw fighting Samantha in front of the Hop Mart yesterday?"

"I thought so too," explained Karin, glancing up at Koji, "But…"

"Oh, I wasn't aware we had an audience then," the frost-haired girl commented. She stood up and bowed politely to the pair, hands folded primly in front of her. "I apologize for not introducing myself then. My name is Sairen Shimoha. A pleasure to meet you."

"…Likewise, I'm sure," Karin replied after a short pause.

Koji shot the redhead a mildly surprised look, noticing instantly the unfamiliar note in the usually cheery girl's voice. Her trademark welcoming smile was firmly in place, however, and Koji shrugged it off. Surely he was hearing things: his Karin would never sound so unsure of herself.

"My name is Karin Aki," she introduced herself with her typical brightness, and gestured to him with one hand while adding, "And this is…"

"Koji Karakuchi, at your service," he took over the introduction smoothly and flashed his own trademark, winning smile at the girl.

Sairen's eyes widened a bit, the pale blue irises reflecting curiosity and interest… or so it seemed. At the very least, there was a definite gleam in the frost-haired girl's eyes that Karin was certain had not been there before.

"Oh, so you're the famous Koji Karakuchi… I must say I'm honored," she breathed, lightly touching one hand to her chest.

Koji blinked as the pale girl bowed politely toward him. He then smirked.

"So you've heard of me," he said smugly, folding his arms. "I'm not surprised. After all, I am the most famous student at Rosewood."

"Of course. Who doesn't know of Karakuchi, second greatest medafighter in all of Japan and savior of the whole world?"

Sairen clasped her hands behind her and looked at Koji, almost smiling. It wasn't a full smile, like the ones that so often graced Karin's face; nor did the faint glitter of her frigid eyes match the bright sparkle of Karin's warm eyes.

Koji still smiled back at her much in the same way he smiled at Karin.

(So nice to know that my talents don't go unrecognized. Usually that Tenryou steals my thunder and the spotlight… even with his lower rank.)

"I can't say that I've seen you around that much," piped Karin curiously. "I mean, to be honest, the only reason I noticed you was I remember your robattling with Samantha yesterday afternoon…"

"It's alright," Sairen glanced over at Karin and almost-but-not-quite-smiled at her. "I suppose I have a tendency to blend into the crowd… I've not exactly worth anyone's notice."

"Why do you say that?" interjected Koji, switching into his ultra-smooth mode. "You're certainly pretty enough."

Sairen returned her attention to, the same ghost of a smile coasting over her lips.

"I'm just not that talented," she replied softly, lowering her pale gaze demurely to the ground. "After all, you must have seen how badly I lost to your friend Samantha…"

"You didn't do that badly," insisted Koji. "That commoner was just lucky."

"It was a good fight, really," Karin commented. "Your medabot looked really great out there!"

"Thank you, Miss Aki," replied Sairen softly, nodding in the redhead's direction. "You as well, Mister Karakuchi. It's quite an honor hearing such praise from the Legendary Medafighter and one of Team Japan's elite members."

"Oh, stop," Karin said, blushing at the reminder of her title.

"Oh, go on," Koji said, basking in the glory of her praise.

"Really, it's wonderful that you've taken the time to talk to somebody as lowly as myself," Sairen continued, bowing again. "But I've wasted your time…"

"No, no, it's quite alright," Koji insisted. "Believe me, talking to somebody as charming as you is never a waste of time."

"Mister Karakuchi, please! You're making me blush!"

Karin blinked, looking at Sairen curiously. Strangely, she couldn't see any hint of a blush on the frost-haired girl's pale cheeks.

"Please, call me Koji."

"…Mister Koji, then. But we really must be going now. I wouldn't want either of you to miss your classes because you spent time on me…"

With that, Sairen turned away from them to retrieve her supplies from where they sat on the marble bench. Holding them demurely to her chest, she turned back and bowed once more.

"It was a pleasure talking with both of you," she repeated, looking down at the ground.

"No problem at all. Tell you what, perhaps we can meet here after classes," Koji said smoothly.

(And talk about how great I am some more… I never get tired of hearing that…)

"Perhaps…"

Sairen then turned and jogged off. Koji watched her melt smoothly into the growing crowd that was beginning to mill about as the first classes of the day grew near, then turned to Karin and smiled.

"Charming girl, wouldn't you agree?"

"…Yes…"

Koji caught the slight pause in her words, but shrugged it off, deciding it was simply his imagination. His Karin acting oddly? What an absurd concept!

"Shall I walk you to your first class, my dear?" he inquired, draping one arm around her shoulders.

"Koji, isn't your first class on the other side of the campus?" asked Karin, blinking up at him.

"…Yes."

"Oh, well, you should get going then. I wouldn't want you to be late on my account."

"Are you sure, Karin?"

"Of course!"

Karin smiled brightly at him, and Koji reluctantly admitted the point as he always had. This was actually a familiar routine between the pair. Still, he relinquished his comfortable arm around her shoulders reluctantly and took his leave of her for the time being, heading off toward his own class.

After he faded into the crowd, Karin let out a soft sigh before doing the same, heading in the opposite direction. For once, the faraway expression in her emerald eyes was not caused by her thoughts wandering to some happy little detail she's just picked up upon.

Karin was mildly disturbed.

One of Karin's talents was gleaning accurate impressions of people just by looking into their eyes. Although this ability was hampered somewhat by her always tending to see good in others no matter what horrible actions they might take, her judgements were usually quite accurate.

In Rintaro's wide violet eyes, for example, she saw a bubbling optimism, a definite energy that always crackled and sparkled like a never-ending fireworks display in those dancing, playful panes. It was why she had immediately accepted him as a friend despite the fact that the first thing he'd done upon arrival was throw the others into a panic about Ikki and Metabee doppelgangers going around and beating every medafighter they came across.

But when she'd looked into Sairen's eyes…

Karin shuddered, absently rubbing her hands over her folded arms for warmth. But the chill was not one caused by the brisk wind.

When she had met Sairen's eyes directly, it had been like staring at a wall of ice: firm, frozen. Unyielding and unreadable. The smooth slate surfaces were a blue so pale they were almost gray… they looked almost colorless.

(Soulless…?)

With another shudder, Karin shoved that concept out of mind. That was something the sheltered little rich girl could not fathom, and so she chose to ignore such a notion completely.

Besides, Koji had seemed to take a liking to Sairen. Karin had always known Koji to have pretty good judgement, so surely there was nothing to worry about.

And if anyone else happened to pick up that the bubbly redhead was concerned about something… well, it would be disastrous. Karin knew full well that people's moods tended to be affected by those around them – and she certainly didn't want to hurt anybody or bring somebody down just because of some silly little doubts of hers.

Karin blinked, then smiled brightly.

There were more important matters to focus on – like, for example, what could she do for Ikki and Samantha to celebrate their new status as a couple? Surely there was something nice she could do for them…

Humming the same bright tune she's begun that morning, Karin pushed all her doubts to the back of her mind, focusing instead on working out something nice she could do for the new couple.


	14. Enjoying the View

__

The scandal continues: see the beginning for all disclaimers.

~ * Part Fourteen: Enjoying the View (20/20 Hindsight) * ~

(I am so good. I'm absolutely perfect!)

Peppercat's self-congratulations continued as she made her way through the city the fastest way she knew how – from one raised surface to another, foregoing the sidewalks altogether. Her sky blue eyes gleamed cunningly, proudly.

It had been a surprisingly simple matter to convince Samantha to let her enjoy some time off while she was at school. It wasn't as if her medafighter was in danger of being challenged to a robattle right then and there: generally medabots weren't allowed to fight on school grounds. Even though the principal had gradually loosened restrictions at Riverview, allowing medabots to meet and hang out with their partners during lunch periods and after school, actual robattles were restricted.

Coach Mountain, needless to say, was very upset about the so-called medabot invasion. The body-builder-turned-teacher was always ready to pounce upon the slightest infraction of the new codes, punishing both partners alike. Apparently, the only thing he liked about the situation was now he could finally attempt to make medabots sweat.

At any rate, Samantha had been willing to let Peppercat go off on her own while she endured another long day at school – with some restrictions, of course. Her orders weren't that terrible, however: just that the CAT-type wasn't to do any fighting without her or risk damaging her meda-parts too badly. It was certainly understandable, and Peppercat wasn't about to go knocking herself offline anytime soon.

This arrangement was definitely more preferable than spending most of the day in the meda-watch. While she was still aware of what was happening while her medal was stored there, Peppercat still found it quite annoying. Sure, it beat only going online when she needed to robattle, but it got rather boring in there.

She paused on top of a telephone pole and stretched both arms above her head, letting the sunlight warm her metallic body. Peppercat purred peacefully.

(Yes, this is definitely better than spending most of my time in a meda-watch. Now if only I can think of something to convince Samantha for time off like this on the weekends…)

That would come later, however. Right now, Peppercat had more fun activities to attend to… Mainly, spending time with a certain Stag Beetle medabot who just happened to be her new boyfriend.

(…Pretend boyfriend, perhaps. But that will change…)

Peppercat's bright blue eyes shone with anticipation.

(Oh, yes, that will change…)

~ * ~

The sunrise had been beautiful that morning.

Crimson eyes remained fixated on the shifting sapphire skies overhead, glowing faintly as if still reflecting the sun's brilliant emergence. A pleasant breeze caressed everything in its flowing path, tugging at anything loose and light enough to become its plaything. This included Rokusho's cloak: the only part of the fabric that wasn't currently dancing with the wind was pressed against the smooth silvery metal of his standing body.

All in all, he made a very impressive figure standing at the very edge of the 24 Hop Mart's rooftop.

Peppercat flipped backward onto the roof and landed a fair distance away from him. The moment she laid eyes upon his regal form, it was all the CAT-type could do to keep from toppling right back over the edge.

Rokusho was just damn beautiful.

She stared, blue eyes filled with adoration, torn between wanting to start charming the KWG-type immediately and not breaking this moment in time. The mere sight of him there, sunlight lending his sleek metal body a heavenly glow, head tilted upwards in silent contemplation, cape fluttering in the gentle wind…

"Wonderful view…"

"Yes, isn't it?"

Rokusho turned to face her, and Peppercat froze, belatedly realizing she had murmured her thoughts aloud. Her face flamed briefly, but she quickly regained control, and silently hoped he hadn't been able to see her blush in the morning light.

"It's good to see you, Peppercat. I wasn't expecting to run into you until sometime after school."

"Yeah, well," Peppercat shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? Samantha decided I earned some time off."

(Only after I brought up the idea myself, but he doesn't need to know that, does he?)

"So, anyway, I figured that since I had some free time, I could come see you for a bit and…"

"Ah. I see," Rokusho nodded wisely. "Does this have anything to do with Metabee's request yesterday?"

"If that's how you want to look at it, yes."

Peppercat said that in a sardonic tone, but privately moaned and made a note to get her revenge on Metabee sometime later. She definitely hadn't appreciated the KBT-type's blunt approach to fulfilling her cunning plan: although it had worked, his method left a lot to be desired.

(At least he didn't completely blow my chances. If he had, so help me, Ikki would have needed a new partner…)

"And after all," she continued lightly, "I figured that you have a great deal of experience with the city during a typical weekday. If anyone knows the best things a single medabot can do during a day on the town, it's you."

"…Yes, I do know what it's like to be out on your own," Rokusho replied slowly.

The Stag Beetle medabot almost seemed to flinch as he said that, and Peppercat winced inwardly. She hadn't intended to sound the way she had.

(Apparently Metabee's not the only one having problems with words lately.)

The worst part about it was she knew what was most likely causing her sudden struggle with getting things to sound perfect. The main problem was standing there right in front of her, staring her in the face with those handsome ruby red eyes. It was all she could do to keep her entire face from glowing as crimson as most of her body, let alone coordinate her words to come out absolutely the way she wanted.

(I'm acting like some silly SLR-type with a hopeless crush!)

(Never mind that I do have a crush…)

"…If you want, I shall show you around the city," offered Rokusho.

Peppercat snapped back to reality and nodded.

"That sounds nice…"

(Damn… How hopeless can you get?!)

Thankfully, Rokusho failed to pick up on the stress in her voice, or perhaps merely failed to point it out. Instead, he motioned for her to follow, turned around, and sprang nimbly off the rooftop of the Hop Mart and to a nearby telephone pole.

Peppercat followed swiftly, struggling to concentrate entirely on following the KWG-type. Her body responded automatically, springing from foothold to foothold with a familiar ease, while her blue eyes remained riveted on Rokusho's back.

On the pair of proud purple horns that crowned his regal head…

On the deadly Chanbara sword mounted on his right gauntlet…

On the trailing edge of his cape…

On his sleek, shiny metal a…

The horns again!

Damn it all if she wasn't blushing again. Peppercat shook her head sharply, narrowing her eyes. This was hardly the time or place to lose herself in her fantasies! Not now, when she had a chance at possibly gaining something she's secretly wanted for a long time…

Nope, all she needed to focus on right now was following Rokusho. She just had to keep her full attention on where the Stag Beetle medabot was taking it.

It wasn't all that hard. All she had to do was watch that fascinating silver bo…

Weren't his horns just wonderful?! She could stare at them all day!

Just the horns. And the head. And the back of his firm chest. And that cape of his. And just beneath that…

But, really, weren't those horns of his fascinating?!

~ * ~

Rokusho wasn't exactly certain what his next move should be.

The Stag Beetle medabot had never imagined he would be put in such an unusual position: taking another medabot on tour of the city and showing them the sights.

Never mind the strangeness of the fact that the medabot he was showing around lived here. Or the fact that showing her the sights was pretty much the literal sense of the term. 

Rokusho's idea of a good time was a far cry from, say, Metabee's idea of a good time. While the outgoing KBT-type enjoyed finding action, adventure and excitement, the KWG-type personally preferred finding a nice secluded vista point and taking in the view, basking in the serene solitude.

Solitude was something he had come to enjoy ever since the fire. Otherwise the sheer loneliness would have driven him mad.

Was it adaptation alone that attributed to his love of spending time isolated from others?

If the fire had never happened… If he had never lost the Professor…

It didn't warrant thinking about it. The past was unalterable, after all. Any speculation on what might have been was pointless. Better to concentrate on the here and now.

"Here."

Rokusho leapt from the wall he had been running along and landed neatly on the ground. Peppercat sprang from her own perch to land just behind him, and the CAT-type looked at the KWG-type curiously.

"What?" She looked around at their surroundings and saw little particularly eye-catching. "Why have we stopped here?"

Rokusho did not reply immediately. The Stag Beetle medabot simply strode forward, ruby eyes gazing straight ahead.

"I come here sometimes to… think."

"Think?" Peppercat tilted her head to one side. "What about?"

"…Many things."

He continued forward, and Peppercat followed, turning her head back and forth to study their surroundings. The two had touched down near the river, and the feline medabot found herself studying their reflections in the shallow sapphire waters. While Rokusho's soft lavender and silver body blended nicely with the clear liquid, her bright armor stood out bluntly, a slash of scarlet against the blue backdrop.

She wasn't exactly sure why, but the contrast hurt to see.

So Peppercat averted her gaze to her companion, who had stopped and was standing upon a sizable flat stone near the water's edge. His ruby eyes were fixated on the rippling surface of the water, and she wondered if he was able to glimpse something in the currents that she simply couldn't find.

(Probably…)

"So… What do you think about, when you're here by yourself?" she tried asking again, walking up to join him.

(If at first you don't succeed… pry, pry again.)

For some reason, she got a picture of her partner deadpanning that phrase in her mind, and the thought made Peppercat laugh softly. Rokusho shifted, then turned to glance at his companion, mildly curious.

"What is it?"

"Nothing… But you still haven't answered my question, you know."

Peppercat tilted her head to one side, blue eyes gleaming slyly. Rokusho stared at her for a long moment, then turned back to watch the flowing water ripple past.

"…Fate is like a river, Peppercat."

"…Huh?"

"The river follows an endless cycle, ever changing and repeating in a never-ending loop. It follows a path determined ages ago, slowly reshaping its boundaries only to remain trapped in its same course. Time may wear away at its banks, yet it never breaks them."

Peppercat just looked at Rokusho, hoping that the Stag Beetle couldn't tell how completely lost she was by the course of this conversation. She did think she recognized what he was driving at, vaguely… But for the most part she was utterly confused.

(Oh, so this is what he does all day… Sit around and come up with new philosophies to confuse everyone else…)

"So…what? Are you saying fate's inescapable?" she asked.

"Perhaps…"

The KWG-type's crimson eyes glowed faintly as he studied the shimmering currents. Peppercat followed his gaze to the river, then shook her head curtly.

"I'm not so sure I can buy into that," she admitted, tail lashing back and forth. "Fate seems like an excuse weak people buy into more than anything else, really. I mean, if you decide that everything's predetermined, it's basically saying that there's no point in having free will. Like you don't have any control over who you are and how you end up. That's… stupid."

Rokusho glanced back at the CAT-type, but didn't turn to face her, instead watching out of the corner of his eye as she went on.

"I say, if there's something you want, you should go for it," she declared firmly, placing her hands on her hips. "Trusting things to fate alone probably means you aren't going to end up with much of anything. You've got to work for it yourself, not sit back and wait for things to go the course without you."

"…And what if you thought that perhaps fate had others plans in mind than what you desired?" asked Rokusho gently.

Peppercat looked at him, a mischievous gleam in her bright blue eyes.

"Then I guess I'd fight the tide," she replied. "After all, anything worth having is worth fighting for."

Rokusho nodded slowly, thoughtfully.

"I… suppose so."

"Right."

Peppercat nodded back, and abruptly the crimson medabot reached out to grab his arm. When Rokusho looked at her strangely, she merely tilted her head slightly to one side in a charming manner.

"C'mon, you," she ordered. "I say we go find something more interesting to spend our free time on then sitting and trading philosophy back and forth. There's got to be something a couple of medabots can do on their own…"

(Like finding more common ground. Like getting you to see my charms. Like making you fall in love with me.)

The KWG-type nodded slowly, once again uncertain of what his next action should be.

"Lead away, then."

The feline medabot nodded again, blue eyes lit up with pleasure. Rokusho watched them closely, hit by a stray thought.

(They're as blue as the sky usually is… I wonder if they have as many faces?)

Then Peppercat was tugging on his arm, and Rokusho followed, curious to see what exactly the CAT-type had in mind. Whatever it was, this day was promising to be a bit more interesting than most in recent memory… Without involving any sort of major threat against the world for once. That in itself was a refreshing change of pace…


End file.
